As children
by Gems for Gemma
Summary: Slightly changing the order of the original story. After Will's mother died he went to move to the Thirteen Colonies instead where he meets his eccentric new best friend. Contains a few original movie characters but mostly my own.
1. Willow's Bend

**Please be aware that some characters and incidents in this story were inspired by other movies. **

**This is my first fanfic so please read and give me your feed back!**

When Will's mother died, she promised she'd send an angel to come to Will. To watch over him, protect him, and guide him. Although there have been some odd angels that were sent to guard people, none were stranger than Callie Caldwell. Will never even considered the possibility of her being the angel his mother promised until one day, when he was all grown up, when a friend pointed it out to him.

After Mrs. Turner died, Will had two choices. One was to stay in England, live in an orphanage until he was able to support himself. Or move to the thirteen colonies to live with two distant uncles that were complete strangers to him. For as long as he could remember, horror stories were told about the children who were sent to live in the orphanage. One kid was said to have been so bad, they locked him in a cold cellar for three days straight, and once they let him come out he had lost his mind. Another kid had to share a room with the oversized lunch lady who would steal hairs and skin flakes from him as he slept to thicken the food she'd serve.

Will didn't exactly know what his two uncles would be like, however he picked to go live with them anyway. They could end up being Vikings and it still would be better than living in that orphanage. Will's mother was a highly religious woman, who dedicated her life to the church, except for the half that didn't have Will occupying it already. Once the church found out about Mrs. Turner's death, they gave her a special funeral, plus a special plot of land in the cemetery for her body to rest. Along with that they paid for Will's fare to the thirteen colonies.

Will's uncles, Tim and Gavin Forman met Will at the Charlestown port. With just one look at them, Will almost wished he'd stayed in England. They were both old and sour looking. Uncle Gavin was tall and skinny, with a pair of glasses hanging just of the edge of his nose with droopy skin under it. Uncle Time was shorter, but stronger looking. His skin wasn't as saggy, but he had a fouler look on his face than Uncle Gavin.

"You the boy?" Uncle Tim grunted at Will. Will nodded slightly, ignoring his bad grammar.

"You're late, grab your stuff and get in the coach." Uncle Tim said as he turned back towards the coach.

The ride into town was long and quiet. Tim and Gavin didn't talk much, even to each other. It took an entire day to get into town, seeing at though they only had one horse pulling the carriage. More than a day in fact, it was dawn when they got into town. Will was just dozing off at that moment when the first sight of something interesting caught his eye. Just a little off the side of the road lay a barrel anchored with big rocks on either side, with a long board leaning against it on top. A little red haired girl sat backwards on one end of the board while the other end stood up in the air. She kept looking up at the tree, which had a boy sitting up in it.

"Jump! Jump! It'll be fun!" She kept saying to him. Will was confused at their motives at first, then realized what they meant to do once the coach started going over the bridge. The girl meant for the boy to catapult her into the river just a few feet away from them. The girl glanced at the coach only for a second before looking back up the tree.

"Jump! Jump!" The girl called again. Her eyes went back to the carriage, at Will in particular, and she smiled slightly.

"I hope she breaks something and drowns." Tim muttered to Gavin.

"I'm sure she'll break something, but I don't think we're lucky enough to have her drown." Gavin muttered back. Will leaned farther out of the window as the two shrunk further and further in the distance.

"Sit back down boy!" Tim barked, "You wanna fall out of the damn carriage?" Will abruptly pulled himself back into the seat.

Uncle Tim and Gavin Forman lived in a small town half a day away from Charlestown. It was called Willows Bend, although not many people know that. It was a very quiet town, with less than seventy people residing in it. Tim and Gavin lived just on the edges of Willows Bend. Their house was old and worn out. It was covered with vines that were not taken care of, and the entire property was surrounded by willow trees, thus explaining the town's name. They stopped in front of the porch steps and both of them lazily slumped out of the carriage, leaving Will trailing behind, lugging his stuff behind them. The room they gave Will was in the tallest part of the house. From outside it looked like a tower almost. When Will took a seat on the bed a wave of dust flew out from it. However Will was so tired from the long trip he didn't seem to care. He let his body go completely limp as he let himself lay down on the bed. He woke up around maybe four in the afternoon, but that was only because he could hear gunshots and yells coming from outside. Will looked out his window and saw the cause of his uncle's outrage. The red haired girl he had seen earlier was leisurely strutting just outside their property.

"Callie Caldwell, you little rat, you come near that fence again and you'll be walking home without a head!" Gavin called at her.

"I'm just taking a walk. On public property, not yours." She said coolly, as she continued to pace along their fence. She mockingly placed a hand out over the fence and started to inch it closer to the fence. Both Tim and Gavin raised their rifles.

"You better get your little behind out of here, before you lose it." Tim said warningly.

"I'll leave when I'm good and ready." She stated. She took a step away from the fence and sighed contently. She stretched her arms out above her head and groaned. Tim and Gavin never took their angry glares off her. She smiled sweetly and turned around to walk away. Both of the started to lower their guns, but quickly raised them when she whirled around again.

"This has nothing to do with you, I'm ready." She said as she resumed to walking away.


	2. Up on the roof!

For the rest of the day, Will would occasionally glance out the window to see if the girl had returned. A small part of him hoped she would. Not because he wanted to see her get shot, it was just that she was the best entertainment he'd seen in a while. His uncle's idea of entertainment was sitting on the porch all day long, never breathing a word to each other, as they waited for the sun to move from the east side of their land to the west.

They'd go into town once a week or so to get food or other supplies they might need at the moment. But other than that, they never left their property. A week had passed since Will had arrived there, and finally Uncle Tim and Gavin decided to go into town to get some things. On the ride over Will kept his eyes peeled for the girl was around, however she wasn't. They stopped the coach in front of a general store and got out quickly.

"You can go look around, if you like." Gavin said, "We're going to be a while."

Will took the invitation and walked by some of the stores and houses close by. It was a very quiet town, very peaceful for those who need it. After maybe fifteen minutes of walking, Will took a seat under a huge willow tree by the general store, waiting for his uncles to emerge from it. Will must have dozed off since he was rudely jerked awake from the sound of a shrill scream. Will rose from his spot and walked out from under the tree to see what the problem was.

"Who's up there? Oh, dear! She's going to get herself killed." A woman standing behind Will cried. Will laughed to himself. It was the same girl he saw a week ago walking along the roof of town hall.

"Callie Caldwell, you get yourself down here right now!" A gruff looking man called.

"In a minute, Herb! I need to get something first." The girl called down to him.

"What on earth do you need from the roof of town hall?" Herb asked.

"Well, you see, I threw my sister's favorite hat up here about two weeks ago, and now she's looking for it. If she finds out it was me who took it, she's gonna kill me. So I got to get it down. "

Callie slowly kneeled on onto the ledge of the roof and grabbed something on the other side of the roof. She stood up and waved it up in the air.

"Got it! I'm coming down!" She called. With that she quickly started to walk to the edge of the building, picking up speed with every step. Once she hit the edge she jumped off, causing horrified screams to escape from bystanders throats. She didn't have far to jump, since she was aiming for the flagpole that was right across from her. She grabbed a corner of the flag and let it gently lower her to the ground.

Once everyone saw she was safely on the ground, they couldn't help but applaud a little. It was a pretty entertaining spectacle. Callie took advantage of the moment and bowed a few times for her audience. A triumphant smile rapidly spread across her face, but left it just as quickly when she heard a slower but louder clap coming behind her. She slowly turned and saw a man towering over with an unhappy look on his face.

"Hello, Father." She said, quickly bringing the smile back on her face.

"In the carriage now." He said sternly, pointing a sharp finger to an expensive carriage just behind the crowd. He lightly pushed his daughter in the direction of the carriage in case she tried to sneak off. Callie looked to her side a boy and a blonde girl as well, and gave them a wink before she completely waded out of the crowd to the carriage.

"Will!" Will abruptly looked over his shoulder and saw Uncle Tim and Gavin standing behind him.

"Come on, boy. Let's go home." Gavin grunted. Will slipped into the carriage and went the whole ride without saying a word. In fact, it was dinner time when Will finally decided to try to make conversation with them for the first time.

"That girl who was here a week ago was walking around on the roof of town hall today." Will stated.

Neither of them said anything, Will took it as an invitation to talk more.

"So does she always do stuff that gets her in trouble?" Both Gavin and Tim rolled their eyes in agreement.

"Since she learned to walk. Before that too, the things she did just happened to get worse after that kid was mobile." Gavin said. Will laughed softly.

"What has she done that's so bad?" Will asked.

"Well there was one time when she tied the Jensen's cat to a parasol, and threw it off a roof, to see if it would float down." Tim stated, picking at his food.

"The cat was fine; it landed in a small pond a few feet away." Gavin assured Will, once he saw his horrified face.

"Don't forget that time when she got hold of that little explosive of her Daddy's. Completely blew up her kitchen." Tim added, moving his hands slightly as he talked.

"What about the time she invited all those traveling folk to her house and they ended up trashing the entire house!" Gavin chuckled.

"Remember when she tied those sleds to the ends of her daddy's horses, and then her and her cousin was racing around town on them, and ended up taking out a wheel on the Governor General's carriage?" Tim asked.

"Then set fire to the Governor's wig later that evening. And threw it into the refreshment bowl to put it out." Gavin said.

"How many nannies has she sent to the loony bin now?" Tim asked.

"Only one actually. But lots have quit." Gavin said.

"Who's her cousin?" Will asked, remembering the two people she winked at earlier as she was escorted away.

"Little blonde boy, I'm sure if you saw Callie today then you saw him. Those two are barely ever apart. His name's Raymond." Gavin said. "There was probably a little blonde girl there too right?" Will nodded.

"Her name's Lucy Mackenzie. That's Callie's best friend. She ain't related to her, but sometimes you think she might as well be." Gavin explained.

"Who's her father, he looked important. From the looks of his clothes."

"He's a captain in the Navy. He's got a big powerful ship and the best groups of navy soldiers as his crew, most of them are settled in Charlestown. He's not around all that much; he's usually out at sea. You're lucky to have seen him." Tim said.

"Why?" Will asked.

"Oh, he's a legend. He is possibly the best captain and fighter there is right now. He's never lost a battle, and he always catches who he's chasing. You'll see, as your time here progresses. There is no one on this side of the world that doesn't know about Inman Caldwell." Tim added.

"Wow," Will said. "It must be hard to have a man like that as a father. He'd be pretty tough on her." Gavin shook his head.

"No, no. That girl's got him wrapped around her finger and she knows it. She can get away with anything with him. He's got four girls, and he's got a soft spot for each and every one of them. It's just Callie that takes advantage of it." Tim said before he returned to his dinner.

Will went to bed that night with extreme envy of Callie. He wondered what it would be like to have a father as brave and majestic as hers was. He wondered if his father was like that. He definitely was no valiant general, from what his mother had told him. She said he was a merchant sailor, who was a good and honest man who always obeyed the law. That was a good description of a father, no doubt about it. But there was a big part of him that wished his father was just like Inman Caldwell. Will slept through the night with dreams of him and a tall faceless father sailing on a powerful ship towards their next adventure.


	3. New Years

New years came along within days of Callie's roof top fiasco. Will wasn't sure what the importance of New Years Eve was in the thirteen colonies, but back in England it was treated as a big deal. Everyone would stay up, the adults would drink and the children would play, until it was time for the final countdown. Then there would be a huge cheer and celebration once the clock struck midnight. Uncle Gavin and Tim obviously did not seem to contain the enthusiasm of the night that Will would have thought they would have. It was a day just as boring as any other day. And they went to bed at ten o'clock, their usual time, just like any other night. Seeing no point in staying up by himself, Will crawled into bed also.

For a half hour or so, Will tossed around on his old creaky bed, trying to sleep but was failing miserably. Finally he gave up and crawled out of his bed. He walked out of the house without much of a problem, seeing as though both of his uncles snoring was louder than a cannon firing. Not knowing where to go, Will strolled along a small dirt path that began right at his house. Before he knew it, he was at the shores of a small secluded pond. He sat down and enjoyed the calmness of his surroundings until they were disturbed by a rustling and cracking sounds of someone coming towards the pond.

Will quickly got to his feet and scanned the woods ahead of him for the spot where the approaching person would emerge. Worried that it was some blood-thirsty murderer or violent drunk, Will quickly darted behind a tree while still watching for the person to appear. His heart suddenly relaxed once he saw a petite figure come into view, it was only a child. Although it was dark out, he could not see the kid's face, only its silhouette. That was remedied soon however, once the kid lit a candle they had carried out there. The much needed light soon revealed that it was Callie Caldwell who had nearly gave Will a heart attack. For only a few minutes Will watched Callie quietly from his hiding place, wondering what she was doing out here, yet it turned out she was doing the same thing Will was doing just before she came. She plunked herself down onto the moist ground and sat still, thinking about something.

"I know you're there, so you might as well come out." Callie called out, shocking Will a great deal. With hesitance, Will slowly baby-stepped his way out behind of the tree.

"I'm, I'm sorry. I… I didn't mean to be spying… I just, I mean…" Will stuttered.

Callie slightly smiled and slapped the ground beside her.

"Pop a squat." She said gruffly. It took a few minutes before Callie noticed that Will had a completely perplexed look on his face.

"Sit down." She said, correcting her grammar with a softer tone.

Quickly obeying what she said, Will plunked down on the wet ground right beside her.

"So what's your story?" Callie asked. Will looked at her with another confused look.

"What do you mean?" Will asked

"No one comes out here at this time of night without a real problem or some good thinking to do." Callie stated.

"Well, why are you here?" Will asked.

"I do believe I asked you first, now spill." Callie said, her tough tone coming back.

"Ladies always go first." Will shot back, slightly enjoying the challenge Callie was giving him. Callie gave him a quizzical look and flung her head from side to side.

"I most certainly do not see any ladies around here, do you?" She said smugly.

"Are you saying you're not a girl?" He said, laughing a little. Callie narrowed her eyes a little.

"I'm a girl! I said I wasn't a lady, there's a difference!"

"No there's not!" Will shot back.

"Yes there is, a girl is just an infant woman, while a lady is someone who is refined and of high rank in society."

"No, a lady is just a polite way of referring to a woman."

"Then why are only women of high rank referred to as a lady?" Callie asked, blood seeming to flood her cheeks with all of the excitement.

"Because men of high rank feel that calling a high ranked woman a lady is more polite, yet with women of lower rank, they do not feel obligated to be polite to so they call them anything they want. " Will stated.

Callie opened her mouth several times to say something, yet stopped herself every time. Knowing she could not retrieve an answer, she wrinkled her nose at Will nastily and looked forward. This caused Will to laugh.

"That's your come-back?" Will asked.

"Oh, and you can think of something better?" Callie asked.

"I know plenty of come-backs!" Will said tauntingly.

"Say ten right now!" Callie stated, sliding herself to face him as their discussion became more heated.

"Alright, number one, you should have said…"

An hour and twenty-eight minutes and a lot of ridiculous subjects later…

"…. So if men even started to wear corsets, it really wouldn't work the same way since guys are just built differently!" Will stated.

"Yeah, well you're stupid!" Callie said, laughing a little.

"That's still not a come-back!" Will said through his laughs.

"I know!" Callie squeaked as she laughed. Soon both of them were lying down in the clammy grass, unable to hold themselves up anymore with all of the laughter. Once they both started to calm down, Callie pulled her arm out side- ways.

"Callie Caldwell." She stated.

"Will Turner." Will said, shaking her hand slightly.

Suddenly a loud boom shook them out of their happy state. They both jumped to their feet and looked in the direction of where the noise was. Fireworks had been set off, probably around town square, just like last year, and the year before.

"It must be midnight." Callie said. Will nodded. Callie turned towards Will and smiled.

"Happy New Year, Will Turner." Callie said charmingly.

* * *

**AN: I'm doing some editing with older chapters that have some mistakes in them so if you're re-reading these updates and some things are different that's why. **


	4. A personal best

On the first day of the New Year, Will received a rude awaking by a pair of green eyes lingering no more than an inch before his own eyes. Once it was obvious that he was awake, the pair of eyes backed up and showed that once again Callie Caldwell had unexpectedly made an appearance in his day. Will let out a yell and jumped slightly.

"Good morning sunshine!" She said a little too cheerfully to be good.

"Get up; we've got stuff to do today." She got up from her spot on his bed and slapped his blanketed knee encouragingly.

"Come on, get up!" She said.

"How did you even get in here?" Will asked, his voice still heavy with sleep.

"There is no way my uncles let you in."

Callie smiled and pointed at the window, which was open.

"Champion climber. Now get up! I'm not gonna say it again." She waltzed right up beside his bed so she could look straight down at him. Will recognized this type of intimidation from last night, and chose not to acknowledge it. He yawned loudly and rolled over.

"That's it, I tried to be nice." Callie said as she grabbed the pieces of cloth just under his armpits and she dragged him to the edge of the bed and hoisted him to his feet.

"Up you go!" She said, sounding strained. The minute Callie let go, Will tried to collapse back onto his bed, yet Callie grabbed him again in the same places to bring him back up. Will groaned in defeat and finally let himself stand up on his own.

"What are we doing that's so important?" Will asked.

"Well you see, today is the first day of a new year. And every beginning of every year, I've got to pull off something big. In order to make the rest of the year even better, chaos wise." Callie explained as she routed through his dresser for clothes.

"So you need to make trouble in order to make more trouble later in the year?" Will asked in disbelief, it was bad enough that she's done all of the things his uncles told him about, but now he finds out she does them on purpose?

"It's a personal best kind of thing." Callie explained.

"You're personal bests should be efforts to not start trouble, and get out of there!" Will slapped Callie's hands out of his drawer once her routings reached his undergarment section.

"So I take it you don't want to be involved." Callie said, shaking the pain out of her hands.

"No, I don't." Will said.

Callie smiled slightly, "Okay, I'll see you in an hour." She said as she headed for the window.

"No, no. Maybe you didn't hear me. I'm not coming."

Callie smiled at Will as she pushed herself half-ways out of his window.

"I'll see you in an hour. We'll be at the old Doyle's place okay? It's two fields across from your house, and it's covered with trees, can't miss it. "She finally dropped out of the window.

"I'm not coming!" Will called out the window.

"Yes you will!" Callie's voice flowed into his window after a few seconds of silence.


	5. The bombardment

Will made his way down to the Doyle's place after all, not totally sure why though. When he waded himself through the raspy shrubs and trees surrounding the place he was not too surprised to see that the Doyle's place was an abandoned dump. Will walked around the lumpy yard for a few minutes looking for Callie, yet could not see her. She must be somewhere else doing her 'chaos'. Just then, a blood chilling thought came to his mind. What if this was a cruel prank on him? What if she asked him to come over her so she could use her pranks on him? Will whirled around to sprint away from the old house when he heard his voice being called from up above him.

"Will! Up here on the roof!" The voice called. Will turned around and looked up to see Callie's tiny head poking over the ledge of the high roof of the house.

"What are you doing up there?" Will asked nervously.

"Come up and I'll show you." Callie called down.

Will was reluctant to go; the thought of him being the prank was still floating around in his head.

"Oh boy, you better come up. It's a lot safer to be up here than it is to be down there, trust me on this." Callie said, sensing what Will was thinking.

"How do I get up there?" Will asked.

"Come in the house, run up the few flights of stairs until you get into the attic. In the corner of the room there will be a small window, just climb out of there and there will be a small ladder to take you up the rest of the way."

Will slowly walked up the creaky broken stairs until he got to the attic. The window was exactly where Callie said it was, and the ladder was placed right beside it on a fairly large ledge outside of the house. Will felt a breeze whip through his hair once he was out of the window. Being slightly afraid of heights, Will didn't dare look down, yet still knew he was high up once he saw treetops dropping down below him. He reached the top of the house quite easily, yet as he reached out to grab the ledge of the house's roof, his foot slipped off a step. But before he could so much as drop an inch, a hand quickly shot out and pulled him back onto the roof.

"Whoa there," Callie said, laughing slightly.

"Watch out for that last step, it's a real lulu!" She hoisted Will up to his feet.

"Has anyone ever told you that you're ridiculously strong?" Will asked, shaking his arm slightly; his quiet way of showing Callie she pulled too hard.

Callie laughed and nodded. "Lots of people have." She replied.

Two more people walked up and stood at either side of Callie. They were the blonde boy and girl Will had seen them with earlier.

"Will Turner, this is my best friend Lucy Mackenzie. And my cousin, Ray Caldwell." Callie announced.

"Hi," all three of them said at once.

"Alright, enough of the boring stuff. Let's get ready for the bombardment!"

Callie cheered, walking over to a thing that looked similar to the contraption Will saw Ray and Callie using the day he first came to Willow's Bend. This was built much better though. Everything was bolted, steadied, and positioned much better than their cheap interpretation he saw that day. Not to mention it was much larger with a large pail nailed to the opposite end of the plank.

"You see, we've got a little war going on with a few other kids in this town." Callie explained.

"We do something to them, they do something to us. It's all very simple. Now they managed to slip under my radar and get us just last week, so we built this huge catapult, and got an enormous stash of everything gross, to bomb the stuffing out of them!" Callie said quite cruelly to be honest. "They're going to be squealing home before lunch time!"

"Now we're going to have to work out a system here, I'll navigate our targets. Lucy will fill the sling with stuff, Ray will aim the catapult, and Will, you'll pull that lever to launch the stuff. Now I tipped Jimmy to lead them to our target area, once they're there, Jimmy will wave a little red flag and high tail it out of there? We gotta be ready for that, okay?" Callie almost looked like a Navy Captain herself, standing front of her three crew members giving discrete orders as if it was a matter of life or death. However in Callie's case, this situation seemed to be a matter of life or death.

They waited for their targets to arrive for about an hour or so. Callie was perched on top of the chimney, with an eye glass that sailors use to see, always attached to her eye.

Will waited silently at his post by the catapult, along with Ray, who had both hands on the catapult, ready to move it at any moment.

"Who are we bombing exactly?" Will whispered to Ray.

"First there's Hub and Pete Maguire, they think they're the masters at making trouble, so as you can imagine Callie's got a problem with that. Then there's Roscoe Payne, he's the sheriff's son. Lastly there's Gertrude, she is the biggest, dumbest, meanest girl there is…"

"Shhhh!" Callie hissed. "They're coming. Get the sling ready."

Lucy filled the bucket with the big fat disgusting worms they sell at the local bait shop when you want to go fishing in the river.

"They're supposed to be gross. We want to be completely disgusted." Callie said, obviously noticing the look of total repulsion on Will's face.

"Alright, Ray, aim it. Will, get back to your station." Callie ordered.

Callie's breathing completely stopped as she slowly raised her arm, waiting for the perfect moment for them to strike. Will watched Callie's lips as she noiselessly coaxed her potential victims into her trap.

Callie's concealed breath suddenly burst out of her mouth in a hoarse shriek,

"Now!" She cried, Will quickly pulled the lever as Callie had ordered and within seconds the sky was covered with thin brown lines that soon rained down on the unsuspecting below ahead of them.

"Quick! Refill! Refill!" Callie barked, looking into her telescope again. Lucy filled the sling with at least two dozen eggs; probably rotten by the slight smell of them, as Callie yelled out their targets new coordinates. Ray shoved his shoulder hard into the side of the catapult, frantically trying to re-aim it, yet it was a slow process.

"Ray! We're going to lose them!" Callie jumped from her high perch to come to Ray's aide. Lucy came seconds later, then Will.

"We're set! Shoot! Fire!" Callie barked again, once their targets were in their range of fire. Will jerked the lever back once again, letting the sky be filled with small flying objects.

Surprisingly enough this process carried on for much longer than Will would have expected. Callie obviously had planned for this, for she knew exactly where to shoot in order to hit them and keep them from leaving their shooting area. After they shot the eggs, burrs, beetles, spicy sauces, and things too gross to described. Their enemies defiantly looked defeated by the time they ran out of ammunition. Each and every one of them was covered in bugs, rotten foods, and the other things they shot. And just like Callie had predicted, they all ran for home like the cowards they were.

Callie, Ray, and Lucy all cheered and applauded as they watched their enemy flee with their tails between their legs.

"Yes! This has been our best turn out ever!" Callie congratulated them.

"I think we owe a big round of applause for our firing agent, Will Turner.

Without him, we would not have been as successful!" Callie announced, sounding just like she was giving a speech for the Queen. With that, she started to clap, and was quickly followed by Ray and Lucy. Will smiled as all three of them circled him, still giving him applause and pats.

"Alright enough of that. Let's go home. Ray can go first!" Callie said as she slapped Ray rather hard on the back, causing him to take a few uneasy steps towards the edge of the roof.

"Callie!" He yelled.

"I would have stopped you, don't be such a baby!" She replied as she passed Ray and took the first step off the roof and onto the ladder.


	6. Inman Caldwell

Will finally had the pleasure of meeting the great Inman Caldwell one Saturday morning, a few months after their bombardment. He awoke that morning to more gun shots and screaming. Will groaned slightly as he hoisted himself into a sitting position on his bed. His bedroom window was wide open; no wonder he could hear everything so clearly. He made his way to the window yet before he could close it Callie's head popped out throw the wispy curtains in startling fast speed. Will cried out and fell to the floor.

"They are crabby today, I'll tell you. Nearly lost a foot!" Callie laughed.

Uncle Gavin and Tim's footsteps on the stairs leaked in under the door.

"Hurry up and get dressed before they blow my head clean off!" She said as she hopped from the window sill and made her way to his dresser. Before Will knew it, she had thrown him a clean pair of trousers and a shirt and was dragging him to the window.

"Where are we going?" Will asked tiredly.

"He's coming home today! We're going to spend the day with him!" Callie said excitedly.

"Who's 'he' exactly?" Will asked.

"My Father." She said simply.

Like Uncle Tim said, Inman Caldwell wasn't around all that much. That day he took Callie home after she was climbing on the roof was the only time Will had ever seen him. He was in Europe with his crew for important affairs, although Callie never told Will what the important affairs were.

Callie hurried up the street and turned onto the little road that led to her house, with Will in tow. Will's mouth dropped a little bit when he saw the house that Callie lived in. It was twice as big as his own, and taken care of much better. She dragged Will up the white porch steps and practically kicked the front door down to get inside.

"Father!" She called. She let go of Will and began to run through the multiple rooms of her home looking for him, while still continuously calling for him. Will surveyed his surroundings while he was alone. The house was very welcoming and warmly furnished from what Will could see. It had cream colored walls and mahogany floors. There was an occasional painting on the wall, and a bouquet of flowers here and there too. The furniture looked very expensive and came in deep greens and browns that gave the room a very earthy look.

Callie's voice became louder and louder before she came running back to where she started.

"He's not home yet Callie. Stop screaming." A young woman said from above. Will looked up and saw a lovely blonde haired girl leaning over the banister from the second floor, giving Callie an irritable look.

"Well when is he getting home?" Callie asked impatiently.

"I don't know." The girl replied. Callie groaned angrily.

"Callie, control yourself. You're acting ridiculous." Another voice said from upstairs. This one belonged to an older and even lovelier lady; Callie's mother without a doubt. This woman sported the same red hair and slightly upturned nose.

"Just be grateful your grandmother isn't here, if she saw the way you were acting she'd be absolutely appalled. And I don't believe you'd like to have a charm instructor anytime soon." She said, her voice was as soft as silk. She lifted her skirt and walked gracefully down the stairs.

She made it to the bottom of the stairs quickly enough and smiled pleasantly at Will.

"Your grandmother would also be appalled at the fact that your guest has been in our presence for at least five minutes now and you have not had the decency to introduce your sister and me to him." She scolded.

Callie rolled her eyes slightly and sighed.

"Will Turner, this is my mother, Anita Aubrey Caldwell." Callie began, being very mono-toned. Anita flashed another smile at Will.

"It's a pleasure, Will."

"Pleasure's all mine." Will squeaked.

"And that's my sister, Roseanne Caldwell." Callie said, pointing to the young girl upstairs.

"Hello" Roseanne said, obviously not interested in making a good impression with Will.

"Hi" Will said, returning the same precision she did. Will looked at Callie; she gave him an apologetic eye roll. This was quickly wiped away when the sound of horses and a carriage came into the room. Callie's face became brighter than the sun as she raced past everyone and out the front door.

Through the front door Will could see four brown stallions roll in front of the house pulling a majestic yet modest carriage behind it. Within seconds a tall and striking man stepped out and smiled as he saw his daughter running over. He kneeled down to catch her once she reached him and stood up to his full height with her in his arms.

Anita and Roseanne walked past Will out the front door to greet the regal man themselves. Will followed slowly behind yet stopped at the porch. He watched in envy as the family happily reunited. Inman reached out an arm and gave Roseanne a tight hug and a kiss on the head while still holding Callie with his other arm. Although he put her down quickly once it was time for him to say hello to his wife. Callie looked over her shoulder and saw Will standing off alone. Callie smiled excitedly and waved him over.

Will timidly walked over to the happy family but stood on the outside of them out of sheer nervousness. Although once Callie noticed that she pulled him into the small glob of people. She roughly pulled on her father's coat to get his attention. He looked down and gave Will a curious smile.

"Father, this is Will Turner." She said. Inman looked a little shocked at the moment yet quickly shook himself out of his awed faze smiled again.

"Pleased to meet you Will Turner." He said, holding out a strong hand. Will shook it shyly.

"He's going to spend the day with us. That's okay right?" Callie asked. Inman nodded.

"Absolutely!" He said, reaching out and ruffling Will's hair slightly.

Inman then turned to talk to his wife leaving Will with his returning envy of Callie, wishing that Inman was his father instead of hers.


	7. Learning as you go

"Now Will, the horses need to be saddled to get ready for our day, and I need another man to help me out, are you up for it?" Inman asked Will once his family started to clear away from him. It was so strange at how exhilarating it was for a man like Inman asking someone like Will for his help.

"Alright, sir, but I, I don't really know anything about horses…" Will stammered nervously. "I'm sure Callie would be of much better help than I."

"I've sent Callie on another job. She has to go to her Grandmother's place to pick up the food we are absolutely going to gorge ourselves with." Inman said in a sly voice.

"Come on, we have to get the horses ready. I'll show you how to put their gear on." Inman coaxed with a hand just behind his back without touching, and led him behind their white country home to the stables hidden behind it.

Will struggled to keep up with Inman's long strides as they made their way to the barn. There were ten horses in the stable in total, including the horses used to pull Inman's carriage home. Across from the horse's stables were racks with huge leather saddles placed on top of them. Inman stepped behind the racks and pulled out three horse blankets and handed them to Will.

"You hold those…" He trailed off for a second before reaching for the biggest saddle on the rack and lifted it off without so much as a straining groan. "…and I'll take this." He said as he started towards the horses.

He flicked open one of the latches and walked into one of the individual stables. Will's mouth almost dropped open when he saw the gigantic black horse standing in from of him.

"You put the blanket over him and I'll show you how to saddle a horse." Inman's head was just barely visible over the horse's back. Will took one of the blankets and tried to place it on the horse's back, yet ended up cursing his short height under his breath as the blanket slid limply down to the ground. His picked it up again and jumped up to place the blanket over, yet the blanket touched the ground before he even did. Inman laughed slightly at Will's unsuccessful attempts, although once Will looked at him in defeat Inman quickly turned his laughs into awkward coughs.

"Just try again." Inman said groggily, trying to make it sound like there was a lump in his throat. Once again, Will jumped up, with the blanket behind his head this time and whipped it over his head and onto the horses back. Will landed with a triumphant smile for this was the first time the blanket did not follow. Inman cheered softly then saddled the horse quickly.

"Now on to the stirrups…" Inman said, going back to the racks.

After Inman's horse was ready they continued on with the lesson with the other horses, who weren't half as big as the last one. Will uttered a quiet thank-you to the lord for that, and then before he knew it they were ready to head out. All they needed was for Callie to get back with the food.

"Thank-you, Sir, for teaching me about saddling horses." Will said graciously.

"Inman." He said as he led the horses out of the stable.

"Excuse me?" Will asked.

"You can call me Inman. Only my crew has to call me Sir… or Captain." He explained.

"The only time it's necessary for you to call me Sir is when you're in front of

someone formal, or you're apologizing for something. Which I guarantee will happen now that you're spending time with my daughter."

"Oh no Sir-… Inman. I'm not a trouble maker. "Will insisted, worried that he was losing his nice conversation with Inman already. Inman shrugged his shoulders.

"Doesn't matter, Callie's a big enough trouble maker for the both of you, she'll drag you into trouble, and you'll end up apologizing. Ray and Lucy do it all the time. It's a fact of life when it comes to being around that kid."

Will stared at Inman, completely bewildered. He knows his kid well enough that she'll start trouble and yet he seems so perfectly cool about it. Is it because he's stopped trying to control her? Or is he that accepting of her?

"Why does she do it?" Will asked. "Why does she do…what she does?"

Inman laughed lightly, taking his time thinking of the right answer to Will's question.

"Believe it or not Will, but Callie is a very complicated little girl. It would take a very long time for me to explain her and I'm afraid we just don't have that kind of time right now. I'll tell you someday, if you hadn't already figured her out on your own."

* * *

Callie ran from her house to her grandparent's house, which was settled just at the beginning of the quiet road that led to her own home, so she could hurry back and spend the rest of the day with her father and her friend. Once she got up to the back porch she put all of her weight into pushing the door open, and ended up hitting her grandmother hard in the back with it. The food she was carrying, probably to her grandfather was now splattered all over the floor, however Callie chose to take no notice of it.

"Picnic basket….now!" Callie panted, still tired from her run.

"Callie, look what you did! I've told you not to barge in through the door like that." Her grandmother scolded lightly.

"Yeah and now my lunch is on the floor!" Grandpa Frank barked.

"Sorry, but we're going to leave soon. I need the food!" Callie whined once she got her breathing normal again.

"Hey, you can wait. I want my lunch now!" Grandpa Frank said, whining a little bit himself.

"Oh Frank. Don't be so heartless, she's excited about her day with her Father." Grandma Mary said, tenderly smoothening out Callie's wild hair from her run over there. Grandma Mary left the room for a second and came back with a large wicker basket in her hands.

"Here you go, dear. Have fun!"

"Hey give me something from the basket!" Grandpa Frank demanded.

"Stop it Frank! I'll make you another lunch once I clean up the mess." Grandma Mary said to him. Grandpa Frank stood up from the table.

"I'm hungry now!" He barked again. He took a step towards Callie. Callie took a step back, holding onto the basket defensively. Grandma Mary stepped in front of him and blocked his way.

"Run." She said to Callie. Callie wrenched the door open and ran out of the house and back towards her own.

* * *

Inman and Will had the horses all set up and outside ready to go by the time Callie came bolting in their direction. Once she reached them she flung the basket into Inman's hands and jumped onto a horse.

"Strap it on tight." Callie warned her father. "I had to run from Grandpa with it the whole way back… You know, for an old guy he sure runs fast."

"He sure does." Inman said as he tightened the leather straps running over the basket.

"I did get a head start, but then he was catching up to me and it seemed like he was going to catch me, but then he stepped into a gopher hole, and then I managed to get back here." Callie recalled excitedly through her laughs. Inman laughed out loud.

"He stepped in a gopher hole?" He asked. Callie nodded, since she was no longer able to say anything without laughing.

"Oh boy we better get going then, he's not going to be happy once he makes his way over here." Callie started to move her horse forward in a medium pace trot while Inman and Will got onto their horses. Will struggled slightly to get on the horse, and since they were in a hurry Inman only let him try once. He slid his hands under Will's underarms and lifted him easily onto the horses back.

"Sorry, Will. I'll let you try it yourself when we're not in mortal danger." Inman then strode over to his own much larger horse and yet pulled himself onto it without any trouble at all.

"Alright Will, just give the horse a light kick and he'll start going. You know how to steer right?" Will nodded shakily. He gave the horse a shy tap and the horse started to move obediently. Inman made sure he stayed right beside him to make sure Will wouldn't have any problems.

"That's it. You're doing well!" Inman congratulated Will.

"Give me some food!" Grandpa Frank barked from ahead, covered in dirt and stomping angrily towards them.

"Time to go faster now!" Inman called. Callie, already a few feet ahead of them, kicked her horse harder in the side which sent her flying down the lane and right past Grandpa Frank. Will and Inman imitated Callie's actions which sent them soaring down the lane as well, practically sending Grandpa Frank into a whirl as they went past.


	8. Dine and dash

"Aw, jeez! What happened?" Uncle Tim yelled once he saw Will's leg with splints securely tied to it.

"I will explain later, but now is not the time. Young Will is in a lot of pain and needs a doctor right away. Which I absolutely insist on paying for." Inman said in a cool tone, practically extinguishing Uncle Tim's angry tone.

Before long Will was settled in his bed as comfortably as possible, waiting for the doctor to arrive and take a look at his leg.

"You know, if I were you I'd put that little monster of yours in a cage, on a leash or something to restrain her." Gavin sneered as he looked disgustedly at Will's leg.

"Excuse me sir, my daughter may be a little rambunctious-"

"Ha!" Gavin interrupted

"- and she may be responsible for quite a few offenses, but what happened today was completely out of her involvement or control. It was an unfortunate accident." Inman stated for his daughter defensively. The hint of anger in Inman's cool tone was too obvious for anyone in the room to ignore.

"Unfortunate accidents. Those sure seem to happen a lot when that kid is around isn't it funny?" Uncle Time said to Gavin, tauntingly repeating all that Inman just said in front of him.

"You know what the real unfortunate accident is? That kid! Tell me, was it difficult watching your wife give birth to a child that was half human, half pure evil?"

Will gawked at the three grown men yell at each other over a topic that no longer even related to him anymore. Almost too scared to see the expression on Callie's face, who had been sitting next to him on his bed the entire time, Will snuck a peak at her. She was laughing like a maniac at them. She was doubled over, gripping at her sides, face bright red laughing. Will hit her arm lightly and gave her an incredulous look. _These men are screaming at each other about you and you're laughing? _His eyes asked hers.

"Half human, half pure evil. Priceless. "Callie said, still laughing.

"You are evil, aren't you? You prank, you lie, you torment…"

"I prefer the term rambunctiously eccentric." Callie said once she calmed down.

Will gave her another skeptical look, she smiled back as if it didn't faze her at all. She looked away at the three men and loudly cleared her throat. It was quickly absorbed in the cluster of three booming adult voices though. She tried it again once more, only to be shot down again. Callie angrily jumped up onto Will's bed, shaking Will's leg slightly. Callie was not one who took kindly to being ignored.

"Hey!" She yelled and clapped her hands together several times until they stopped.

"Alright, now I don't know if you know this but I am in the room, and your comments are upsetting me!" Callie said in a quite convincing shaky voice. If Will hadn't just seen her laughing as much as she was he might've believed her.

"If you're going to squawk mean things about me, then do it like gentlemen and do it behind my back. Go into another room!" Callie ordered, pointing a sharp finger to the door.

The men managed to fumble out of the room without too much protest. Inman and Tim got stuck in the doorway when they tried to leave at the same time, and said a few rude comments to each other as they wiggled free of the door frame. Once the door was closed plopped back down on the bed, violently shaking Will's leg again.

"Ow!" Will cried.

"Oh grow some cherries!" Callie scoffed.

"It hurts really bad Callie!" Will said defensively trying to ignore the rude remark.

"Bad enough for make you cry like a girl?"

"Bad enough to make me cry, a boy cry!" Will retorted.

"Boys don't cry." Callie said.

"They cry when they're in pain." Will snapped.

"When they do, they go OW!" Callie said, making her voice as low as she could.

"They don't go ooooow!" She said making her voice go high.

"I'm six, my voice hasn't matured yet. I'm allowed to go oooow!" Will said mimicking her high voice.

"And I'll go oooow, any time I want to!"

Callie put up her hands, signaling her surrender.

"Men are so touchy about their ows." Callie mumbled.

Before Will could even respond to her comment a quick knock came at the door and elderly Dr. Butler came shuffling into the room.

"Good evening son. Heard you had quite a nasty fall! That man-made river they're digging is just ridiculous! Causing more trouble than it's saving!" He said in an overly friendly voice as he walked to the bed, so friendly it slightly questioned the matter of sanity. Dr. Butler looked at Will stiff fully clothed leg and glanced at Callie, who was still sitting beside Will.

"Miss Caldwell, I'm going to need to take a look at his leg." He stated.

"Yeah you do! You're not getting paid for your company." She rolled her eyes at Will.

"No no no. You don't understand. I need to see Will's leg without his pant leg covering it, meaning…" Dr. Butler trailed off.

Callie stuck her tongue out and shriveled her nose in a disgusted way.

"Say no more, I'm gone!" Callie got up from the bed and couldn't have stridden across that room faster if she was on fire. She quickly poked her head in once more, her hand covering her eyes.

"Just so you know Will, that story I told you about the broach and the frogs. I wasn't lying about the first part of it. Just a little bit of proof that I'm not totally evil."


	9. Pure Evil

"Aw, jeez! What happened?" Uncle Tim yelled once he saw Will's leg with splints securely tied to it.

"I will explain later, but now is not the time. Young Will is in a lot of pain and needs a doctor right away. Which I absolutely insist on paying for." Inman said in a cool tone, practically extinguishing Uncle Tim's angry tone.

Before long Will was settled in his bed as comfortably as possible, waiting for the doctor to arrive and take a look at his leg.

"You know, if I were you I'd put that little monster of yours in a cage, on a leash, or something to restrain her." Gavin sneered as he looked disgustedly at Will's leg.

"Excuse me sir, my daughter may be a little rambunctious-" Inman started.

"Ha!" Gavin interrupted

"- and she may be responsible for quite a few offenses, but what happened today was completely out of her involvement or control. It was an unfortunate accident." Inman stated for his daughter defensively. The hint of anger in Inman's cool tone was too obvious for anyone in the room to ignore.

"Unfortunate accidents. Those sure seem to happen a lot when that kid is around, isn't it funny?" Uncle Time said to Gavin, tauntingly repeating all that Inman just said in front of him.

"You know what the real unfortunate accident is? That kid! Tell me, was it difficult watching your wife give birth to a child that was half human, half pure evil?"

Will gawked at the three grown men yell at each other over a topic that no longer even related to him anymore. Almost too scared to see the expression on Callie's face, who had been sitting next to him on his bed the entire time, Will snuck a peak at her. She was laughing like a maniac at them. She was doubled over, gripping at her sides, face bright red laughing. Will hit her arm lightly and gave her an incredulous look. _These men are screaming at each other about you and you're laughing? _His eyes asked hers.

"Half human, half pure evil. Priceless. "Callie said, still laughing.

"You are evil, aren't you? You prank, you lie, you torment…"

"I prefer the term rambunctiously eccentric." Callie said once she calmed down.

Will gave her another skeptical look, she smiled back as if it didn't faze her at all. She looked away at the three men and loudly cleared her throat. It was quickly absorbed in the cluster of three booming adult voices though. She tried it again once more, only to be shot down again. Callie angrily jumped up onto Will's bed, shaking Will's leg slightly. Callie was not one who took kindly to being ignored.

"Hey!" She yelled and clapped her hands together several times until they stopped.

"Alright, now I don't know if you know this but I am in the room, and your comments are upsetting me!" Callie said in a quite convincing shaky voice. If Will hadn't just seen her laughing as much as she was he might've believed her.

"If you're going to squawk mean things about me, then do it like gentlemen and do it behind my back. Go into another room!" Callie ordered, pointing a sharp finger to the door.

The men managed to fumble out of the room without too much protest. Inman and Tim got stuck in the doorway when they tried to leave at the same time, and said a few rude comments to each other as they wiggled free of the door frame. Once the door was closed plopped back down on the bed, violently shaking Will's leg again.

"Ow!" Will cried.

"Oh grow some cherries!" Callie scoffed.

"It hurts really bad Callie!" Will said defensively trying to ignore the rude remark.

"Bad enough for make you cry like a girl?"

"Bad enough to make me cry, a boy cry!" Will retorted.

"Boys don't cry." Callie said.

"They cry when they're in pain." Will snapped.

"When they do, they go OW!" Callie said, making her voice as low as she could.

"They don't go ooooow!" She said making her voice go high.

"I'm six, my voice hasn't matured yet. I'm allowed to go oooow!" Will said mimicking her high voice.

"And I'll go oooow, any time I want to!"

Callie put up her hands, signaling her surrender.

"Men are so touchy about their ows." Callie mumbled.

Before Will could even respond to her comment a quick knock came at the door and elderly Dr. Butler came shuffling into the room.

"Good evening son. Heard you had quite a nasty fall! That man-made river they're digging is just ridiculous! Causing more trouble than it's saving!" He said in an overly friendly voice as he walked to the bed, so friendly it slightly questioned the matter of sanity. Dr. Butler looked at Will stiff fully clothed leg and glanced at Callie, who was still sitting beside Will.

"Miss Caldwell, I'm going to need to take a look at his leg." He stated.

"Yeah you do! You're not getting paid for your company." She rolled her eyes at Will.

"No, you don't understand. I need to see Will's leg without his pant leg covering it, meaning…" Dr. Butler trailed off.

Callie stuck her tongue out and shriveled her nose in a disgusted way.

"Say no more, I'm gone!" Callie got up from the bed and couldn't have stridden across that room faster if she was on fire. She quickly poked her head in once more, her hand covering her eyes.

"Just so you know Will, that story I told you about the broach and the frogs. I wasn't lying about the first part of it. Just a little bit of proof that I'm not totally evil."


	10. Ostriches and Envy

Being confined to your bed without any good entertainment or company can seem no more fun than getting the strap for behaving badly, for both are mind numbingly unbearable in their own ways. Will had been sentenced to a month of confinement in his bed after his nasty fall, and that was only if he was lucky. It had been three weeks and Will could feel his sanity leaving him more and more by the hour.

Callie had not been by to visit since the accident. She had much more important things to do apparently. Uncle Garth and Tim told him one afternoon she had managed to slip into Herb Payne's home and swipe a copy of his signature and his individual seal and sent a letter to the British Colony in South Africa asking for them to send over three dozen ostriches for Willow's Bend to keep. Then when the things actually got there they told Herb Payne that each animal cost five pounds each, which brought the total up to one hundred and eighty pounds. The people who brought the birds over wouldn't take them back, so the town was then out one hundred and eighty pounds and stuck with thirty six of the ugliest and biggest birds ever.

"…and her reason for asking for those birds was that 'I wanted to ride one.'" Uncle Gavin said, mockingly imitating Callie's voice.

"Why did she get thirty-six then?" Will asked.

"She wanted to pick the best one herself." Uncle Tim spat "And that's only half of the story. Last night she snuck over to the Payne's property where they're being kept and let the stupid things loose. This town is infested with giant birds. Payne's got a crew of men to help him catch them. They've been running around all day trying to round these things up but they're so bloody fast! Not many of the horses can catch them."

"Oh jeez! Speaking of those stupid things… Hey get away from that you ugly bastard!" Uncle Gavin barked out the window. Both men bolted from Will's room to chase away the bird that was tromping around their land.

Will settled back against his propped up pillow, trying to fall asleep since that was the only thing he could do to make the day go by faster. Will smiled as he closed his eyes, he could totally picture Callie plopped on top of one of those birds laughing away. Soaking up all her glory and absolutely beaming she's so proud of herself. He was just starting to doze off when a voice that wasn't one of his uncle's abruptly coming from outside took him out of his slight unconsciousness.

"I know they're ugly but you don't need to call them bastards! I'm sure if their parents could marry they would."

Another two minutes or so later Will opened his eyes a crack and could see a pair of lips moving quickly, forming words that Will was too tired to really listen to.

"You ditch me for three weeks and the one time I can get some sleep and you show up?" Will said a little accusingly as he practically pulled his eyes open.

"Actually it was more like giving you time to heal." Callie said in a silky voice

"Actually it was more like ditch the cripple!" Will stated. Callie smiled sadly at him and placed a hand gingerly on his shoulder.

"Has your aunt flow come to visit and just refuses to leave?" Callie said with a good impression of being understanding. Will whipped a pillow out from behind his head and hit her as best he could. Callie laughed and brushed away the stray hairs the pillow managed to pull out of place and stepped out of the pillows range.

"I'm joking Will! But you've been really touchy the last few times I've seen you, with the 'ows' and 'I'm a cripple!' It does sound a lot like you've got your…time of the month." Callie said using invisible quotation marks with her fingers. Will chucked the pillow at her and actually knocked her off her feet once it made contact with her. She got up slowly holding her stomach, looking at Will incredulously.

"What in the world? What's in that pillow?" She reached down and pulled out a four inch thick hard cover book that was hidden underneath the pillow-case.

"That is a really big copy of the bible. That's what I've been reading while you've been riding ostriches!" Will said

"You had better hope your uncles lock your window at night because I will come in here and smother you in your sleep!" Callie picked up the pillow and held it over Will's face.

"I would love to see you try!" Will challenged. Callie whipped the pillow around in circles a few times, making whooshing noises to match it.

"Bring it on, cripple!"

Will whipped out his other pillow and started to hammer away at Callie. Callie shielded herself for a second before her hand shot out and grabbed a good chunk of Will's pillow. A tug-a-war soon started between the two.

Ray poked his head in through the window and saw an interesting his. Callie pulling at a pillow with Will on the bed with his leg tightly bandaged, holding onto the other end wasn't exactly the most compassionate sight he ever seen. Ray cleared his throat uncomfortably. Callie looked over and smiled.

"Oh great! You're here, what took you so long?" She asked as she let go of the pillow, letting Will smack himself in the face with it. Callie strode over and drug in a box filled with loads of stuff.

"I'm sorry, it's almost as if this stuff wasn't made to be pulled up the side of a house!" Ray panted sarcastically.

"Why didn't you just use the stairs like me?" Callie asked. "Those guys aren't in the house, they're out chasing an ostrich."

Ray looked at Callie with a murderous glare, "would've been nice if someone would have told me that…" He mumbled as he started pulling things out of the box.

"Help!" Lucy yelled through the window. She was trying to crawl in through the window when she must have slipped. She was lying flat on her stomach holding onto the window sill for dear life.

"Yeah, help her Ray." Callie ordered as she bent down to the box and started to pull things out. As Ray struggled to pull Lucy's chubby body through the window Callie started putting random objects on Will's bed for him to see. A black boot with a hole cut in the part where the shin would be, a puppet with an angry look on its face, five feather dusters and many more things.

"Since you missed out on the last few weeks, we're gonna catch you up on all that's happened."

The re-enactment of the last few weeks remarkably only took about twenty minutes to show Will. The puppet with the angry look was supposed to be Payne, and the boot with the hole in the shin was a horses head. Ray slipped that on his head and ran around the room with Lucy ahead of him with the feather dusters (which were supposed to be ostriches) while Callie trailed behind, hitting the boot lightly with a stick she found outside and yelling "Hya!" every once in a while. Although Callie's strikes with the stick soon became harder and Ray started to run about the room for real; trying to get away from Callie.

"Ow! Callie, stop it!" Ray yelled as he scrambled away from her.

"Get back here horse!" Callie called as she chased him. It wasn't much of a chase though, since both of them were laughing too hard to run as fast as they could. By the time Uncle Tim and Gavin came back into the house and heard the racket upstairs all four of them were in tears from all the laughing.

"What is going on up here?" Uncle Gavin barked as he swung the door open. He scowled angrily once he saw Callie in Will's room. Ray and Lucy scrambled towards the window, not even bothering to gather the things they brought, while Callie stood her ground, obviously not in any hurry to leave.

"You…." Uncle Gavin snarled in a harsh whisper. Callie smiled innocently. Gavin strode slowly towards her, looking angrier with each step.

"Did you know that there is an ostrich pecking at the windows of our kitchen?" He asked. Callie shook her head,

"Can't say that I did."

"There's an ostrich pecking at the windows of our kitchen!"

"I fail to see what you expect me to do about it." Callie stated.

"I expect you to high tail it out of here now!" Gavin barked.

"For the record, what's going to happen if I don't?" Callie asked.

Uncle Tim had now just entered the room and was gripping his shot gun angrily.

"There are two shots in there right now and guess where they're going." Callie's brow rose slightly.

"Point well taken. Au revoir monsieur's!" Callie called in a remarkably good French accent as she practically dove out the window. Uncle Gavin and Tim turned to leave the room and didn't see Callie's head pop back into the room.

"I think I'm wearing them down, they usually tell me where they're gonna put their bullets." Callie said to Will.

"Out!" Uncle Tim ordered once they realized that she had returned. Callie disappeared once again and Uncle Tim angrily shut and locked the window, keeping her from entering again.

* * *

Will dozed off again later that day yet was awakened by another strange noise. This was coming from outside though, loud enough for Will to hear through the closed window. Curious to see what was going on Will slowly inched his way to the edge of the bed, and slipped his legs to the floor. Being very careful about putting no weight on his one leg he hopped over to the window and saw something he should not had been surprised to see at all. He opened the window so he could get a better look at Callie plunked right on top of an Ostrich's back, holding on for dear life and yelling to the heavens. Ray and Lucy were standing by Will's fence watching her at a safe distance. Ray glanced over his shoulder and saw Will at the window.

"Look! She finally got on one! She's been trying to catch one all week and now she's finally done it!" Ray yelled to him.

"How did she do it?" Will yelled back

"She hid up in a tree…"

"…This is my greatest achievement ever!..." Callie screamed

"…and she dropped onto one that came under her." Ray called

"Try this you guys! It's amazing!" Callie called before she fell from the birds back. She landed hard on her back and ended up doing a backwards somersault before springing back up as if she never fell at all. She was still laughing as trudged over to Ray and Lucy. She was saying something to them however Will couldn't hear what. Callie looked in Will's direction and waved wildly at him.

"Did you see that?" Callie called.

"Yes!" Will called back.

"I'm gonna try to do it again!" Callie ran to a nearby tree with Ray and Lucy in tow and the three quickly scrambled up the tree's branches and were hidden from Will's sight for the next little while, until the bird came under the tree. Then Will had the pleasure of watching either Callie, Ray, or Lucy spring out of the tree and try to land on it. Ray missed it completely and landed face first into the dirt, Lucy landed on it but quickly slid off, while Callie landed on it and managed to ride a few feet before toppling off it again.

Will watched in envy as he saw the three of them having such a good time. He particularly liked the part where one of them would spring out of the trees, he always got a good laugh out of that one.

_I could stay on much longer than Callie. _Will thought to himself. He looked down at his leg and touched it tenderly. Hopefully just another week until Will can be on his feet full time again, and then he could show Callie how ostrich riding is done.


	11. New kid in town

As Callie's luck would have it, her idea of bringing ostriches to the town turned out to be a huge economic boom for Willow's Bend. One night two starving drifters were passing by one night when they found a dead ostrich just laying there on the road. One of Payne's guys had shot it early that day and hadn't gotten to dragging it off the road yet. Their stomachs growled loudly as they stared at the fresh and enormous bird laying there for them to take. Before they knew it they had drug it off the road, cooked it over a tiny fire, and were eating it as quickly as they could. They weren't exactly expecting the bird to actually taste good, but to their surprise the meat was actually quite appetizing. They didn't stay in Willow's Bend long; they kept going as soon as their stomachs were full, as drifters often did. They hit a few more towns where they managed to spread the word of an exotic new type of meat that could only be found in Willow's Bend.

Yet the real breakthrough discovery was more appreciated once the drifters hit Charlestown and the big business men of the town and other towns as well once the story hit their ears were all coming into Willows Bend to make offers on the exotic birds. Soon every one of the birds was sold for no less than twenty pounds and their town was ostrich free once again; just as they liked it. Many of the birds that the towns tried to raise did not live long, the climates were unbearable for the birds and sooner or later they all died. Of course the buyers were angry but what could they do? The birds weren't guaranteed to live in their conditions.

The business men and the drifters weren't the only ones to wander in Willow's Bend at the time though. A little boy with red skin and black hair wandered into town. People were surprised to see the child in the town yet no one bothered to do anything about it, until he started swiping fruit off of Mr. Waller's cart. Once Mr. Waller was those five fingers creep up and snatch an apple off this cart he had an absolute fit.

"Thieving little rat! Just wait until I get my hands on you!" He roared as his turned as red as the apple the boy took. Completely petrified, the boy ran down the street as fast as his legs could take him. Lucky for him, Mr. Waller was in terrible shape and gave up chasing the boy after about twenty feet. That didn't stop the boy from his little heart out. He was on the outskirts of town when he finally slowed down slightly. He still kept his pace as a slight jog though. He looked over his shoulder to see if Mr. Waller was behind him, and as he turned his head back around he skidded to a stop as two giant horses right in front of him whinnied and jerked to a stop as well. The boy fell to the ground and shook like a leaf as the horses stomped around and snorted in front of him.

"Whoa! Whoa!" The coachman yelled, trying to coax the horses down. The coachman glared at the boy.

"Mangy Indian." He grumbled as he slid down from his seat and stomped over to the boy.

"I'll teach you to wander from your land!" He yelled as he raised his arm back, getting ready to strike the boy. The boy yelped in terror and ran past him yet was stopped again by another man who had just gotten out of the carriage. This man was much gentler however.

"Slow down there son. It's okay, it's alright." He said soothingly. The boy stopped struggling because for once he didn't feel like he was in danger.

* * *

Will's leg heeled quickly after the ostrich incident, although he unfortunately never got the chance to ride one like he had hoped. Callie poked her head in his bedroom one evening and saw him hobbling around his room.

"Oh great! It's healed?" Callie asked cheerfully, startling Will quite a bit. He span around a little to harshly and winced as he faced Callie.

"It's healed right?" Callie repeated eagerly.

"Pretty much, still hurts a little." Will answered.

"Fantastic! Meet me at my house tomorrow!" Callie said before disappearing from the window.

"Callie! It still hurts! I can't walk all that well!" Will protested to the window.

"If it isn't broken you're coming!" the window stated back.

The next morning Will managed to get down the stairs without too much trouble and tried to walk quickly past his uncles in the kitchen to the front door without them seeing however he was still a little to injure to be that quick.

"Where are you going?" Uncle Tim said with his mouth full.

"Out." Will stated shyly. Uncle Tim rolled his eyes.

"Just don't break your other leg." Uncle Tim said as he returned to his breakfast.

The morning air smelled exceptionally fresh that morning, probably because Will hadn't smelled it in a month. Callie was standing in her front yard, she had her arms folded and her foot was tapping impatiently.

"Sorry!" Will said. "I came as fast as I could."

"It's not you that's late, it's Ray! I asked him to be here an hour ago and he's not here!" She stated through a clenched jaw.

"What exactly do you have planned?" Will asked nervously.

"I'll tell you when I get Ray here." Callie said through her gritted teeth.

"Come on!" She ordered as she took off with Will in tow.

Ray lived with Callie's and his Grandma Mary and Frank, his mother (Inman's sister) died in childbirth with him, and his father was an alcoholic who was not permitted to come anywhere near Ray or anyone else in the Caldwell Family until he was rid of alcohol. He was told that five years ago, no one has seen him since.

The entire house was quiet when Callie and Will crept in the front door. They quickly snuck up the stairs to Ray's bedroom, although not before catching a glimpse of Grandpa Frank with an entire ham in his hands as he gnawed away at the edges.

"Grandma will love that!" Callie muttered to Will as they went up the stairs.

Ray was asleep in his bed when Callie and Will came in. Callie tsked to herself and walked to the foot of his bed. She brought her legs up high so they made a louder noise against the wood floor. She clapped her hands a few times.

"Wakey Wakey Ray-Ray!" She called. There was no way Ray could have slept through all of her racket, yet he still chose not to show he was awake.

Callie's eyes narrowed, she accepted his challenge. She took a hold of the quilt on his bed and ripped it off. Ray still lay huddled in a ball under a light sheet on his bed. Callie grabbed the edge of the sheet and ripped that off as well. Ray curled up into a tighter ball but still kept his eyes closed. Callie's eyebrow rose as she spotted the hem of the thin trousers that Ray slept in. She looked to Will and smiled deviously. She reached over and grabbed the hems of both pant legs…

"AH! Okay, okay! You win! I'm up! I'm up!" Ray wailed in defeat as he pulled his pillow over his exposed area. Callie cackled evilly at him. She came over to where Ray was sitting, put the trousers on his head, and then led Will out of the room.

"You have thirty seconds to get ready! You really let me down Ray!" Callie said through the door.

"You deserved that pancing!" Was Callie's final statement before her and Will went downstairs to wait for him.

"So what exactly are we doing?" Will asked again as the three of them walked back to Callie's house.

"You know the bell that's up in the chapel?" Callie asked coolly. Will's eyes widened in shock. They rounded the corner of Callie's house into the yard behind it, and there sat the church bell.

"You stole the chapel bell!" Will cried out.

"Technically I didn't steal it. I know some people who stole it for me." Callie stated.

"And who are these people?"

"Traveling folk." Callie answered.

"What are you going to do with it?" Will asked fearfully.

"I don't know yet. I've got a few ideas floating around but nothing that does this beauty justice. I just need you guys to help me hide it until I think of something."

The plan was to hide it high in the sturdiest tree in the yard, since that was one place guaranteed that her parents or anyone else for that matter wouldn't see it. Pullies and ropes were swiped from a shed where Callie's father keeps extra necessities for his ship in order to pull the up into the tree. Lucky for them, the bell wasn't exactly the largest in the world. Callie and Will pulled from the bottom while Ray pulled from a high branch in the tree.

The bell was nearly at its destination when Callie felt something strange on the back of her neck. Something warm, slightly damp, like someone's breath. Callie stopped pulling and slowly turned her head around and saw a red skinned boy standing no more than two inches away from her.

"I like waaaataaaa." He said in a somewhat strangled voice. Callie screamed and let go of the rope. Will stumbled forward slightly with the rope before letting it go. Soon the bell came crashing down to the ground and landed with an alarming thud.

"What happened?" Ray yelled from the tree. Will looked at the bell, it wasn't damaged too badly, just a crack that wasn't there before. He looked at Callie then at what made her drop the rope. A little Indian boy stood no more than a foot away from Callie.

"What's that guy doing here?" Will asked her.

"I have no idea!" Callie said.

"Does he speak English?"

"Well he just said he liked water, so I'm guessing so. You speak English?" She asked the boy, he simply stared at her.

"I…like…waaaataaa." He said again.

"Okay, he's mad, he's out of here." Callie said as she began pull the kid towards the way out of the Caldwell property.

"Uh, Callie? Maybe he just wants some water." Will stated.

"He can get it from the river; he's not coming in the house." She managed to get him to the front yard of the house before Inman came out of the house's front door and abruptly stopped the both of them.

"Callie! Cal, honey its okay. He's no danger here." Inman said

"I'm not worried about that. He just wandered into our yard, so I'm sending him to wander on someone else's property." Callie said. She walked past her father with the boy in tow. With just two quick strides Inman caught up to them and stepped in their path.

"He didn't wander onto our property Callie, I brought him here."


	12. Back where he belongs

Callie gaped at her father as he admitted his actions.

"You…you brought him here. You…brought him here. You…brought…him…here…." Callie said, she was saying it more to herself than to her father. Yet no matter how many times she said it, it would never stop being true. Her gaze returned to Inman soon enough, her shocked expression was still there.

"Why?" She whispered.

"Callie," Inman kneeled down and put his hands on Callie's shoulders.

"I know he's different, but the bottom line is that he's all alone and he needs people like us to take care of him-"

"Here's my horse! Ruff, ruff!" The boy jumped in between them suddenly. Callie jumped away from the boy and Inman, giving them both a grotesque look, until she recognized the wooden horse the boy held in his hands.

"Hey! That's mine!" Callie protested.

"Oh please Callie you haven't touched it since you were teething. Your bite marks are still on it."

"That's beyond the point. That is my property and he stole it. You stole it!" She yelled to the boy who was now running around the yard, galloping like a horse.

"And you've never stolen anything in your life?" Inman asked, pointing to the bell that was still lying on the ground. Callie looked over her shoulder and motioned to Ray to stand in front of it. Ray smiled innocently and he scooted over to the left slightly to hide the bell from sight.

"But that's beyond the point Callie," Inman said. "We can't take him back to his tribe, we don't even know which one it is, not to mention it's dangerous." Inman said in a tone that disapproved of any idea that might have popped into Callie's head just then.

"He'll stay here just until we find somewhere else for him."

"But Father-"

"No buts, Callie. He stays. If anything I'd think you'd be the one who'd understand the most. Will was in the same boat as this little guy and you befriended him without a second thought." Inman said.

"Will doesn't think a horse goes 'ruff, ruff'…" Callie trailed off and turned to look at Will who was standing by Ray and the bell.

"…do you?" She asked.

"No!" Will said defensively.

"Well you're just going to have to show him what noise a horse really makes, and any other barnyard animal sound that he doesn't know." Inman said as he stood up and brushed the grass off the knees of his trousers.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I believe I'll go over to the church and explain to them about their missing bell."

Callie stood still as she watched her father walk out of the yard. Ray and Will slowly walked up to her, yet she chose to wait a while until she acknowledged them. She let out a monstrous sigh and whirled around to face them.

"Alright, forget the bell. All of our energy and planning is going into keeping this guy alive, or not driving me to the point of insanity and killing him in more thorough terms." The boy came trudging over although Callie was too deep in thought to notice, until…

"Horsey! Ruff! Ruff!" The boy said as he made the horse slowly gallop up Callie's side, and most defiantly not without sound effects. Callie stayed still for a surprisingly long time, although her face defiantly showed how aggravated she was getting.

"Pa-da-dum, pa-da-dum, ruff, ruff…" the boy said as the wooden horse climbed higher up Callie's arm. Callie's right eye started to twitch, her eyebrows were furrowing closer together.

"Pa-da-dum, pa-da-dum, ruff, ruff, pa-da-dum…" the wooden horse was just passing her left ear. Callie's fists started to clench and unclench.

By the time the horse had reached the top of Callie's head she had shown more restraint and discipline than Ray or Will had ever known she had in her. The boy placed the horse on top of Callie's head and made it howl like a wolf. Callie squeezed her eyes shut only for a second before snapping her head to the side where the boy stood, causing everyone to go deathly quiet. She rolled her head back and that caused the wooden horse and the boy's arm to fall away from her and back at his sides. She grabbed the boy by the shoulders, Ray and Will winced a little, fearing to see what she was going to do. However all she did was push him away.

Will and Ray stared at her in disbelief. They expected the boy to have no face by now, yet the only thing he didn't have was the two feet closure between him and Callie. Callie put her hands over her face and let out an aggravated groan.

"I have no idea how I'm going to keep restraining myself…" She trailed off.

"Look Callie, maybe we can alternate times with him. He can stay at my house some nights and some at yours. I'm sure Grandpa Frank won't mind as long as he doesn't talk to him." Ray said.

The wooden horse suddenly appeared again between Ray and Callie, alternating from looking at one or the other.

"Really? Oh Ray you have no idea how great that would be- would you get that thing away from me?" Callie suddenly screamed at the wooden horse and swatted it out of the boy's hand.

"I'm…a horsey!" the boy called, and then started to gallop around the yard. Callie watched him for a second before dropping her head and shaking it slowly from side to side.

"Now you're a horsey!" the boy said as he jumped on Callie, sending them both crashing to the ground.

"Grass…taste…funny." The boy said. Callie grumbled something that no one could understand since her words were muffled by grass and dirt.

* * *

"Higher Mother, I want the bun higher on my head." Roseanne said as her mother was piling her blonde locks on top of her head.

"Honey, if I put it any higher it would fall on your forehead." Anita said laughing a little.

"But George likes high buns!" Roseanne protested. A gagging sound emerged from the corner of the room suddenly. Both Rosanne and Anita looked towards the corner where Callie sat in a worn out armchair.

"Be quiet Callie!" Both women said in unison, in much different tones though. Rosanne had been seeing a young man by the name of George for almost a month now and was officially completely infatuated with him. This meant beware of serious cases of nausea whenever the name George was mentioned for everyone else.

"Callie Caldwell. Someday you'll meet a man that will turn your head right around and then you'll have to watch what you say." Anita said as she toyed with Roseanne's hair. Callie's other two sisters, Evelyn and Annette; who had just come into the room, burst out laughing in rhythm with Roseanne.

"What man would have her?" Evelyn asked as she laughed. Callie wasn't bothered, but she did grab a pin cushion covered with pins lying nearby.

"Excuse me for not wanting to jump the first peacock that flies by." Callie shot back.

"Callie, if you're going to be a pest then we'll just choose to ignore you." Roseanne stated. Callie wasn't listening; she was too busy sticking pins in the back of Evelyn's dress. _She's sure in for an unpleasant time next time she sat down. _Callie thought to herself.

The boy crept into the room while the chatter amongst the women; not including Callie though, and scurried over to where Callie sat.

"I'm thirsty!" He whispered to her.

"Ma, the kid's thirsty!" Callie called, pointing to the boy.

"Callie, I'm a little busy. Why don't you get him something to drink?" Anita said, sound a little more aggravated by her daughter now.

"But Ma-" Callie started before she noticed Evelyn going to the other easy chair.

"You know what; I will get him something to drink. Come on shorty!" Callie said quickly before she sprinted out of the room with the boy trailing behind. They had just reached the top of the stairs when Evelyn's shrill cry rung throughout the house.

"Callie!" She screamed. Callie chuckled to herself and continued down the stairs.

As they headed to the kitchen Callie could feel the boy's hot breath on the back of her neck once again. She stopped abruptly.

"Want to give me a little elbow room?" Callie asked. She starting walking again and the boy let up about half an inch. Callie stopped around after a few steps.

"Want to give me a little more elbow room?" Callie asked again. The boy let up another inch.

Callie strode into the kitchen and when right for the glass bottle of clear water on the counter and thrust it at the boy.

"Here's some water, bye." She said quickly as she headed for the door. She looked over her shoulder abruptly and was stopped by the surprising sight. The boy had a shoe in his hand and was pouring water into it. Callie wasn't sure what confused her more, the fact that he was pouring water into a shoe or the fact that he managed to find a shoe out of no where in about three seconds.

"Mother! That stange kid is using a shoe for a cup!" Callie called up the stairs.

"Well stop him!" Anita called back. Callie rolled her eyes and turned back to the kid.

"Look kid-"She grabbed the shoe and the bottle from him. But before she could finish her sentence the boy let out a shrill scream. Callie jumped a little and turned to get a glass from the cabinet.

"Calm down! Calm down! Here you go!" Callie said as she held out a glass of water. That shut him up for a bit.

"I like waaataa." He said.

"Yes, yes, I know! Just take it!" Callie said, losing her temper ever so slightly. Frightening the boy slightly, he dropped the glass causing it to shatter on the floor, and of course the boy's screams came back again.

Anita, Roseanne, Evelyn, and Annette soon came rushing in.

"What on earth is going on down here?" Anita asked.

"He's lost it! That's what's going on!" Callie stated, pointing sharply at the boy.

"You scared him Callie! Nice work!" Annette snarled as the four of them passed by her to console the boy.

As if on cue, Inman came rushing into the kitchen as well. He looked at Callie, then at the boy and his wife and other daughters.

"Oh no, are you okay?" Inman asked.

"Well not really! That little maniac has caused…" Callie trailed off as Inman walked straight past her to the bustling group behind her. Callie's mouth dropped open as her family fell all over themselves over the boy. Callie's eyes narrowed as she glared at the boy.

"That's it, buddy. You're out of here." She whispered to herself.

* * *

The curtains made a soft whispery noise as the wind came through the open window in Will's bedroom. Will was having a dream about England. He and his father were being congratulated by the Queen herself for heroic acts during their adventures at sea. His mother was in the audience cheering for them and at the end of the ceremony she ran up and hugged them both. The feeling of his mother's warm arm wrapped around his neck felt so nice, until it felt like something wet stuck in his ear. Will's head jerked and he cried out a little. He opened his eyes to see Callie hovering over him with a grin and a wet finger.

"Callie, it's the middle of the night." Will croaked.

"You honestly don't think I know that?" Callie asked. "Come on, get up."

"What? Why?" Will asked.

"We're taking the water-sucker away from here. We have to do this at night so my Father or anyone else who is so in love with him can't stop us." Callie said with a hint of bitterness in her voice.

"You already can't take him? It's been one day!"

"Longest day of my life. Now get up." Callie ordered.

"What are we going to do, just dump him on some orphanage's door?" Will asked, sounding sympathetic to the boy.

"No, nobody deserves that. Not even that psycho." Callie stated. "We're taking him back to his tribe."


	13. The first time

Against Will's wishes, Callie had managed to drag him out of his bed and before he knew it Callie, Lucy, Ray, the boy, and Will were wandering down a trail away from the town. They walked in two rows, Callie, the boy, and Ray in front, Will and Lucy behind. Callie held up a lit lantern so they could see, yet she had to switch it between her hands periodically since it got pretty tiring after a while, not to mention hot.

"Just how long is this trip going to be?" Will asked.

"Two days… there and back will take four." Callie replied without taking her eyes off the trail ahead of her.

"Four days? Callie we can't be gone for four days!"

"Why not?"

"Well for one thing, no one knows where we are…" Will said.

"I left a note for my parents saying where we're going." Callie replied calmly.

" But we don't know where we're going."

"I have a map, plus I've heard people talk about where these tribes are all the time." Callie said.

"…We're going to have to eat sooner or later…"

"Ray's got more than enough food for all of us." Callie said patting the sack Ray had slung over his shoulder.

"…We have to sleep…" Will continued.

"We've got blankets."

"There are crooks and dangerous animals out there…"

"Then we'll find a way to get away from them." Callie sounded quite irritated. She looked over her should at him for the first time since they'd left.

"Is that all you've got? Unless you can think of something all lot better, we're doing this."

"No, no Callie. You can do this, I'm going home." Will said. Everyone stopped abruptly and gave Will their own special look. Lucy's was admiring, Ray's was a scared, 'I can't believe you said that to her' look. The boy's was completely blank. Callie's was the worst; hers was disbelieving and hurt at the same time.

"I'll see you guys when you get back." Will said quietly as he turned around and walked up the trail in the opposite direction.

"Fine! Miss out on the greatest adventure of your life! It's probably your only chance to have one!" Callie yelled to him.

Will took his time walking up the trail, every second step he took he stumbled over something. His hands were held out in front of him, in case he was to bump into something and his eyes were open as wide as they could, just so he could see more. While he was walking he couldn't quite get what Callie yelled to him out of his mind.

_What did she mean by that?_ Will thought to himself.

_Is she saying I'm boring? That I never do anything fun? Or is she calling me a coward? Does she think I'm afraid of going?_ Will angrily shook his head. _How dare she! Just because I won't do something reckless and stupid that will probably get us into a lot of trouble, I'm a coward? I'm smart for not going! Who does she think she is?_

Will walked up a small hill and looked behind him. He could see a small light in the distance. He knew that was them. He watched it for a little bit, it was quite hypnotic.

_It would be one heck of an adventure…_

Will angrily shook the thought out of his head.

_No! You are going home, you are telling Inman and everyone else where they're going. And they will come home and understand completely. _Will said to himself, his feet stomping the ground as he walked.

_It's not like this is my only chance for an adventure. This is the 1700's for goodness sakes! There are wars going on, there's people exploring new lands, and pirates! Can't forget pirates, they're everywhere! Merchant vessels go to sea with practically a thousand barrels of gun powder they're so scared of coming across pirates. This isn't my only chance for an adventure._

Will stopped again and looked for the light; it was further away now and much dimmer.

_But it sure would be an excellent one to be my first…_

Callie looked up above at the sky. It was turning lighter, morning would be coming soon.

"Guys, we should pick up the pace. When morning comes and they realize that we're gone my Father is going to have every guy in town looking for us, with horses! They'll catch up to us in no time if we're not careful.

"Oh! But I'm tired!" Lucy whined.

"We'll rest once we get over that hill." Callie said, pointing ahead.

"That one? Callie that's at least a mile away!" Lucy protested.

"That's exactly why we should pick up the pace. The sooner we get there, the sooner you can rest. Now hurry!" Callie said sharply. They all broke into a brisk walk down the trail. Callie had a hand wrapped around the boy's small wrist and was pulling a little roughly on his to make him keep up with her.

"I want wataaa…" The boy whispered.

"You'll get it later." Callie grunted

"I want wataaa, I want wataaa!" The boy chanted.

"Would somebody please take him for now?" Callie said sharply as she let go of the boy's wrist and kept walking. Lucy took the boy's hand as she passed by him and they continued down the trail.

Will had to sprint to catch up to them. It was hard since the trail was bumpy, although it was getting lighter out so he didn't have to worry about not being able to see so much as before. It was hard to see where they were since he couldn't see the light from Callie's lantern at all times. Every time he came to the top of a hill he stopped quickly to get an overview of where they were. They weren't moving all that fast, but that didn't make the running any easier.

He caught up to them once they were at the base of the hill. The rising sun was hitting Will right in the eyes so he didn't even realize he had caught up to them until he crashed into something and both him and the anonymous object toppled to the ground. It didn't take long for Will to realize that he had ran into one of them. He abruptly got off of the person and was sputtering apologies as fast as his mouth would let him. Once he was brave enough to look at who he hit, he saw Callie laying there with her arms folded at her chest and a not so surprised look on her face.

"I thought you were going home?" Callie said lightly and accusingly at the same time.

"Well I figured I better come along after all, in case you guys need some protection." Will said, matching her light tone.

"Isn't that sweet of you? My hero." Callie said in a mocking way. She quickly picked herself up off the ground, completely ignoring the hand Will offered to her and walked over to where Lucy, Ray, and the boy were standing.

"Hey, Will's back!" Ray said cheerfully, Lucy looked over and smiled at him.

"And thank-goodness too. It's always so much better when Will's around." Callie tried to say in a sarcastic tone, although everyone there could hear the hint of sincerity in her voice, even the boy.


	14. Run Ray!

"I'm hungry." Lucy stated as she sat on a stump and pouted. Callie glanced at Ray.

"You heard the lady, out with the food."

Ray pulled the sack off his shoulder and let it fall to the ground with a light thud.

"It's basically breads and fruits. Nothing that goes bad really fast." Ray explained.

Lucy plunged into the sack and pulled out an armful of food.

"Excuse me Luce! Only two things per person. This has to last us the entire trip!" Callie said.

Lucy stayed still with the food in her arms for a little before dropping everything she held back into the sack except an apple and a piece of bread.

"Good girl." Callie stated. "But I'm going to need that second apple in your hand back."

Lucy sighed and put the apple in the sack.

"Thank-you. Now put back the one that's hidden in your pocket." Lucy grumbled as she reached into the pocket of the coat she was wearing and pulled out a third apple.

"I want some wataaa." The boy whispered to Callie.

"Oh yeah, I forgot about you." Callie said in a monotone voice.

"Water I'm afraid we don't have with us. We'll have to get it from the river." Ray said, pulling out a bucket.

"I'll go get it." Callie said, taking it from him. She walked up to Will,

"You and Lucy stay here and watch the boy, and Ray will come with me to get water."

"What?" Ray protested. "Why do I have to come?"

Callie turned from Will and came over to Ray.

"Haven't you ever heard the saying, 'always stick with your buddy', buddy?" She asked as she wrapped an arm around Ray's shoulders and started to lead him towards the way that led to the river.

Callie's arm around Ray was supposed to be chummy, but actually her arm was so tight that she was actually starting to strangle Ray a little bit. Once they hit the river Callie walked straight into it; it was gentle where they were, and stuck the bucket into the water.

"What exactly am I supposed to do?" Ray asked from the shore.

"Just keep an eye out for anything." Callie answered.

Ray nodded and looked around at their surroundings looking for anything.

"Bugger!" Callie yelled out. Ray snapped his gaze back to Callie.

"What happened?" Ray asked.

"I dropped my knife in the river!" Callie explained.

"You have a knife?"

"Yes." Callie was now submerged up to her shoulders, feeling around for the knife.

"Why would you bring a knife?"

Callie looked up at Ray and gave him a sarcastic look.

"In case I get the urge to carve a sculpture out of wood, why do you think?"

Callie took in a deep breath and completely submerged herself under water, only to emerge again ten seconds later empty handed.

"Do you want me to help you look?" Ray asked.

"No Ray, just stay where you are and keep watch." Callie said tiredly before she went under water again.

* * *

Will anxiously looked at his surrounds as the awkward silence between him and Lucy. They paced around their little resting spot, pretending to have something to do or check. They passed each other every once in a while, and gave each other a polite smile. Once in a while the boy would whine about something, sending both of them into a frenzy to rush to his aid and fill the silence even if it was only for a few seconds. 

"I want some wataa." The boy said.

"They're getting you water, they should be back any minute…What's taking them so long anyway?" Will asked.

"Who knows, maybe Callie's trying to catch some fish with Ray as bait." Lucy answered. Will laughed at her comment.

Lucy looked surprised as she saw Will laughing.

"What?" Will asked

"Nothing, it's just no one's really laughed at my jokes." Lucy said.

"Well, who have you told your jokes to?"

"Callie and Ray."

"There's your problem, Ray would take it as a threat and Callie would take it as suggestion." Will said.

Lucy smiled as Will talked.

"You're much funnier than you let on too." Lucy said. Will's smile dulled a little.

"I didn't seem funny when you met me?" Will asked, sounding a little hurt.

"Yes, well no. It's all Callie's fault really. She said usually you're about as fun Roseanne talking about George."

"Really? She said that?" Will asked in an interested tone. "She's going to pay for that."

"What are you going to do?" Lucy asked.

"I'm… going to give her nasty looks while her back is turned."

Now it was Lucy's turn to laugh.

"That's all you can do to her sometimes…"

Will nodded; he agreed.

"Yeah.

* * *

As Callie emerged and re-emerged from the water with Ray standing at the shore. A pair of eyes watched them quietly from above on the hill. Watching Ray standing there, such an easy target. Watching Callie bob above and under the water like a fish swimming upstream. 

The bobcat crept closer to them, successfully staying out of the sight of the two children. He was maybe thirty-five feet away from them when his moving outline caught the corner of Ray's eye. Ray's eyes bulged out of his head in terror once he realized what it was.

"Callie…" He said nervously.

"Callie, Callie, Callie!" He yelled more frantically each time.

Callie was underwater once again, feeling around the dirt and rocks for the knife when she heard a muffled voice coming from the surface. She resurfaced quickly and looked at Ray through the thick red locks that had stuck to her face as her face came out the water.

"What?" She breathed

"There's a, there's a-a big cat!" Ray pointed to the shrubs where he saw the bobcat, although it was no longer there. Callie looked around and looked at Ray again.

"Well you know Ray, there's a fish that just swam into my shirt, why don't I get it out and we can give it to him to distract him from killing us?" She said sarcastically.

"You're seeing things. Now stop making me re-surface for stupid reasons!" Callie dunked her head again.

"But it was really there!" Ray said to the water. "I didn't just imagine it…"

The bobcat appeared again, this time twenty feet away.

"There it is again! Callie! Callie!" Ray yelled.

Under the water Callie rolled her eyes at Ray's pathetic voice, before she felt the smooth knife handle underneath her fingertips. She grabbed it and pushed herself to the surface again.

"Dumb boy! Just-"

She didn't get to finish her sentence; she was interrupted by the startling growl of the bobcat.

"Run!" She screamed to Ray. Ray did as he was told, although the bobcat caught up to him in no time. Callie rushed out of the water, the knife in her hand. She knew she could get away, yet she looked at her cousin and the animal that was just and eyelash away from him. She took the sheath off of the knife and took after them.

The animal sank its teeth into the heel of Ray's shoe, and sent him tumbling to the ground. Ray kicked frantically at the animal, trying to get it away. He hit it in the face, which made it back off a little. Ray took the opportunity to try to race away again, but just like a cat would to a mouse, the bobcat reached its paw out and brought Ray to the ground with his strong hold. The cat climbed on top of him and Ray held its throat, desperately trying to keep it away.

The animal let out a shrill cry and abruptly jumped off Ray. He looked up to see Callie in front of them, the knife unsheathed and held out defensively. He looked at the animal's back and saw a small angry cut on its back. It didn't seem too injured by it, but it was sure mad about it. Callie's face looked focused and ready, yet Ray couldn't help but notice the knife trembling ever so slightly in Callie's hand.

"Ray, get out of here." Callie said sternly.

"Callie-"

"Ray, don't! Just get out of here. Don't make any sudden movements though."

Ray backed up slowly, never taking his eyes off the animal. While the animal never took its eyes off of Callie. For what seemed like hours they both stood perfectly still, watching the other, waiting for somebody to make a move. The further away Ray got the quicker his steps became. He was practically jogging backwards when the bobcat made the first pounce on Callie. Ray looked in horror and turned around to run full speed. He heard another shrill cry and quick footsteps coming up behind him. Ray's heart felt like it was about to pop out of his chest. He started to sob a little as he ran, thinking his life would soon be over. He felt a slight pat on his back and he cried out quickly.

"Ray!"

Ray whipped his gaze behind him as best he could and was relieved to see his cousin there instead of the bobcat.

"You're alive!" Ray said as he started to slow down.

"Don't stop! Keep running!" Callie cried frantically. The bobcat was behind them once again. Another deep gash lay in it's paw, where Callie stuck the knife in.

Callie and Ray ran faster than they ever thought they could run, so fast that they didn't even realize they had run right off the side of a deep hill until they were tumbling down it at full speed, with their legs still frantically trying to run away. At the bottom of the hill lived an old tree with huge above ground roots sticking out. Callie was the first to reach it. She rolled under a bridge like root and fell between two smaller roots into a hole hidden under it. Ray somersaulted towards the tree and landed sitting down in front of the root that Callie fell under.

"Ray help me out!" Callie yelled from the hole.

Ray looked over his shoulder and saw the bobcat angrily making it's way to the hill. Ray quickly went to the entrance of the hole and desperately tried to squeeze through the roots that blocked the hole.

"Callie help me in!" Ray cried. Callie grabbed hold of Ray's hands and pulled hard to get him through. He slid through just in the nick of time. Suddenly the bobcat's paws came through the hole, swiping at the air. Callie picked up a stick that was lying under the hole and whipped it at the paw. She hit it well a few times and within seconds the paw disappeared and there was complete silence once again.


	15. Someone likes me

"…or what about the time-" Lucy started before she looked around their campsite rapidly.

"What?" Will asked

"Where's the boy?" Lucy asked nervously.

Will eyes widened and he joined in with Lucy's hasty head twisting to look for the boy.

"Well he couldn't have gotten far." Will stated as he stood up and started looking amongst the trees.

"I'll look over there," Lucy said as she walked over to some bushes. He wasn't visible in the distance. There was no trace of where he could've gone off to.

"Oh, I think I found hi-" Lucy interrupted herself with a loud shriek. Will turned around quickly and saw Lucy jumping around the bushes like a mad-woman wailing and flailing her arms about.

"That's not him! That's not him!" She shrieked over and over again. Will went over to the pushes and pulled aside a few branches to see what the commotion was about. A grimace grew quickly across Will's face as he looked down upon a skinned rabbit, covered in flies and decaying like mad. Just the smell of it hit Will like a slap in the face, he quickly let go of the branch and it covered the carcass in a flash.

"Oh dear! That's positively nauseating!" Lucy wailed again as she held a hand close to her mouth.

"Wait… this could be good news." Lucy started as her nausea miraculously disappeared, "this could mean that natives could be near by right?"

Will shook his head.

"Probably not. From what I understand of natives they never waste. They wouldn't just skin the thing and leave the carcass. This is the work of someone of our own race."

Lucy's hopeful face turned quickly into a pout, her face was almost accustomed to it by now.

"But I don't want to spend four da- Ow!" Lucy yelled as something dropped above her and hit her on the head. Both of them looked up and saw the boy sitting on the tallest branch of the tree and saw the boy looking down at them slyly.

"How'd he get up there?" Lucy asked.

"How should I know? We've got to get him down." Will answered.

Lucy stepped up to the tree and cupped her hands around her mouth.

"Listen here, you have to get down right now!"

"I like trees." The boy yelled down.

"I don't care, get down here!" Lucy called up to him again. She was answered by a pinecone flying right at her head. She dodged just in time and the thing went past her.

"Alright, now that's enough. Get down!" Lucy said, sounding more angry than usual. Another pinecone came flying down at her seconds later, skimming the top of her head.

"Oh that's it! I've had it with being nice!" Lucy growled. She bent down and picked up a pinecone lying near by and threw it hard into the tree at the boy. She then bent down and picked up another one, which she threw at him as well. As fast as she could pick them up she threw tons of them at him, none making much of an effect on him. Lucy panted and sweated as she continued to hurl the pinecones with all her strength at him and didn't stop until she made contact between a pinecone and the dead center of the boy's face.

The boy yelped out and covered his face with both hands. The anger on Lucy's face was quickly replaced with remorse.

"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to hurt you… I…" Lucy stammered, before the boy quickly recovered and whipped a pinecone back down at her, hitting her in the forehead.

"Oh that's it! He's dead!" Lucy exclaimed to Will.

"Throwing things at him won't help, we need a new plan."

"Any ideas?" Lucy asked angrily. Will smiled.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I do."

* * *

Ray looked at the opening from which they both came in. Then to Callie who was sitting under it, holding a stick protectively in her hands.

"Is it still there?" He asked tiredly. Callie looked at him quickly before raising her stick through the hole. She held it there for a few seconds, nothing happened. She looked at Ray happily, she waved the stick around a little bit and suddenly a loud snarl came from above and snapped off the top of Callie's stick. Callie's grin was removed within seconds as she pulled it back in the hole.

"Yep." She answered as she sat back down in the dirt.

"Cal, what are we going to do?" Ray asked hopelessly.

"We'll just wait it out."

"We've been waiting it for at least two hours now! It's not gonna leave! It's just going to find a way in." Ray said weakly.

Callie looked at him with disgust,

"What's your problem?" She asked. Ray sharply glared at her; slight signs of tears welling in his eyes.

"We could die, Callie. We're lucky we've gotten this far." Callie scoffed.

"We're not going to die Ray. We're just going to have a more difficult time with this."

"Callie, it a-"

"It's a bobcat, Ray." Callie interrupted. "A bobcat. The tiniest of pumas. There are men in this world that have fought off lions, bears, sharks, and any other ferocious thing there is out there. The way I figure, this little guy, he's just practice. A starter."

"So, you want to be a wild animal fighter when you're older?"

"No, that's stupid. But it would be nice to know I could handle myself if I ever came across one again."

"What do you want to do when you're older?" Ray asked nervously.

"Well I sure as hell don't want to stay around Willow's Bend for the rest of my life." Callie answered.

"Callie!" Ray whispered shrilly, "You cursed!" Callie picked up a dirt clod and threw it at him.

"What are you whispering for, nobody's gonna hear us!" Ray pointed up,

"He will."

"Oh come off it. He's got better things to do than worry about what I've got to say."

"He hears everything, Callie." Ray said worriedly.

"Then why do I always get away with doing the little things I do?"

"Because you make up for them with the big things you do."

"What the he-heck are you talking about?" Callie recovered, rolling her eyes at him.

"Now I don't know if you just don't want to admit it, or it comes so natural to you that you just don't notice, but you've done some pretty good things in your life."

"Like what?" Callie asked, slightly interested now. Ray smiled.

"You know, you know what you've done." Callie smiled guardedly.

"You're not gonna hug me or anything are you?" Callie asked, holding her arm out protectively. Ray smiled and shook his head.

"Good." Callie stood up and looked up at the top of the hole above where Ray was sitting, she had spotted something. Ray stood up as well; an awkward silence came over them for a while.

"Oh what the hey, come here you!" Ray said as he half jumped on Callie and wrapped his arms tightly around her shoulders. Callie thrashed underneath Ray's arms desperately, trying to release herself from Ray's grip. She managed to unlock his hands and twist them painfully behind his back.

"Don't you dare do that again!" Callie yelled.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow, okay, okay, I won't!" Ray yelped.

"You're not gonna do that again?" Callie asked.

"Never again!" Ray said. Callie released him and he twisted back into place immediately.

"I don't like to be hugged Ray, remember that." Callie said to him as he rubbed one of his wrists gingerly. Callie walked back up to the wall.

"Now, what I was going to say before I was attacked…" Callie shot a mean glance at Ray.

"… I see some light shining through there, I'm sure we can dig another opening. Ray give me a boost."

Ray knelt down and intertwined his fingers together to make his palms one big step for Callie. Callie placed her foot in Ray's hands and he lifted her up high enough for her to start digging their escape root out of the hole.

* * *

"I sure wish we had someone to share these sweets with…" Lucy yelled out under the tree where the boy sat.

"Yeah, I do too." Will yelled back, trying to put at least a little enthusiasm into their somewhat ridiculous skit. Lucy had taken off her coat and gathered some rocks in it.

"Do you want another one?" Lucy asked, holding out a stone.

"Yeah, I do." Will answered, taking the stone. He turned to the side slightly so the boy would have a better view of him, and brushed the stone on the cheek not facing the tree to make it look like he had placed it in his mouth. The both looked above at the boy and were happy to see that he had a very enticed look on his face. He started to shimmy down the tree soon enough while Lucy and Will continued their little sketch.

It was quite funny to see the boy slowly make his way up to them, like a rabbit when it's offered a carrot. Step by step he made his way up to him and snatched the coat full of rocks before Lucy had any time to react. Will smiled proudly.

"Told you it'd work." He nudged Lucy lightly. The boy sat down on a stump and popped a rock right in his mouth, although spat it back out within seconds.

"Sweet broken." The boy said before throwing it away, ironically enough hitting Will in the arm in the process.

"That's it. Come here kid!" Will said as he started towards the boy. The boy dropped Lucy's coat and took off once again. Will took after the boy, with Lucy trailing behind. Luckily Will was faster, and it was not hard for him to catch up to the boy. Will's hand reached out to try to grab the boy's arm when the boy tripped over a tree root and fell hard on the ground. Will stopped abruptly so he wouldn't run the boy over and fell to the ground too, although not as hard.

Will bounced back up without so much as a strain and brushed the dirt off him. He frowned slightly as he looked down and saw the boy still sitting on the ground, holding his knee protectively and making small weeping sounds. Will crouched down and delicately took the boy's hand away from his knee. It was scraped, but nothing too serious. Will held the boy's sides and he carefully helped him up to his feet.

"That's it, here we go." Will coaxed as the boy stood shakily on his feet. Will had the boy's arm wrapped around his side, gesturing for the boy to lean on him. They slowly made their way to camp, Lucy caught up to them about a quarter of the way there. She was panting hard and had a few sweat driblets rolling down the side of her face.

"…What…happened…to him?" She panted.

"He just tripped, he'll he fine. Are you okay though?" Will asked.

"Oh yeah, just a little tired. I need to lose some weight." Lucy whispered under her breath.

"Are you okay to walk back?" Will asked carefully.

"Oh yeah… I'm good."

Will started walking on, the boy stuck to his side, with Lucy trailing father and father behind. Occasionally Will would stop to let her catch up, although after four times of that, it got old fast. Will stopped one final time for Lucy to catch up, and her linked his arm into hers and let her lean on him as well as they made their way to the camp.

* * *

"One last little layer of dirt, how ya doing down there buddy?" Callie asked Ray, although he was unable to answer with the constant flow of dirt showering his face and front.

"Almost… there we go!" Callie said cheerfully as a ray of light shone into the hole.

"Get my stick, " Callie said. "I've got a plan. You stay down here and wave the stick in the first hole, distracting it, while I climb out the second one. I run and once I get a fair distance away I'll call it over so you can get out."

Ray nodded nervously,

"Then what?" He asked. Callie shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't know, I'm thinking this up as I go along. Something will present itself in good time. "

"But Callie-"

"Run back to camp once it's a fair distance away from you, you don't have to come with me." Callie shot back, sounding plain aggravated now.

"Wave the stick, come on now." Callie ordered and she started to climb up to the second hole.

Ray did as he was told; he waved it around for a while, giving Callie a head start. Then once it was safe he climbed out of the hole himself. He could see the bob cat in the distance, but no sign of Callie. For what seemed like hours he stood before the hole he just climbed out of, contemplating which direction to go. Towards the camp and safety, or towards Callie. Ray looked from side to side desperately for a while before groaning out loudly and taking off in the direction that Callie had taken.

"This is crazy, you don't have a plan. This is crazy, you don't have a plan…" Ray kept repeating to himself as he ran. His eyes kept shooting from side to side in case the bobcat decided to show up. He reached a small clearing when he finally decided to stop for a second. He saw Callie's dagger plunged into the ground, with no sign of Callie. He bent down to pick it up and as if on cue, the bobcat pounced out of the bushes towards Ray. Ray held out the dagger defensively, just like Callie had before, as he waited for the animal to strike.

Ray looked over his shoulder for a second, and saw a small trail leading east, and just as his head was turned the bobcat attacked. Pining Ray once again to the earth, his face just inches away from Ray's. Ray yelled out in fear and struck the bobcat high on the leg with the knife. He had barely made a cut on the animal but it was enough to get the thing off and away from him. Ray took off towards the trail, knowing there wasn't much of a chance of him actually getting away. A clearing was not far off, just another twenty feet or so. Ray managed to get there without it catching up, although had no where else to go now since he was now standing on the edge of a cliff. He turned and saw the bobcat standing just and the edge of the woods, tauntingly staring at him. It slowly made it's way down a wooden log that had fallen across a boulder.

Ray stared at the log for a moment, there was something awfully peculiar yet familiar about it. Yet before he could figure it out for himself. Callie jumped out of nowhere and landed on the close end of the log, launching the bobcat over the ledge and into the river ten feet or so below.

Callie cried out happily as she scrambled over to the ledge and watched the bobcat swim to the edge of the river.

"There's a reason we're at the top of the food chain!" Callie yelled to it. As Callie yelled and did small victory dances at the ledge, Ray stared at her, completely dumbfounded about everything that had happened in just thirty seconds.

"How could that have happened?" Ray asked her, still in total shock from the situation.

"I mean, the weight of you, and it, and the log was too unbalanced, all of your positions were weird… There's no way that should've worked…" Ray stammered in disbelief. Callie smirked and shrugged.

"I'm just as amazed that it worked as you are. But at the time I figured I might as well try. I guess someone up there must like me." Callie looked up.

"Eh, cloud people?" Ray hit her arm lightly, Callie laughed at her own joke.

* * *

"What the devil is making all that racket?" A scruffy looking man stood up from the fire a few other men and himself were sitting around.

"Who cares? This is the bloody forest. Everything makes racket. I don't see why we have to go through miles and miles of bloody forest just to meet with Wells because he's afraid of ruining his reputation." Another one of the men stated.

"It's bloody children making that racket!" The scruffy man exclaimed. "What in devil's name are children doing out here?" Another man strolled up behind him.

"What's all this?" He asked.

"There's children wandering around our site. If they find us, we could have some trouble in store for us."

The man shook his head.

"No, children are easy to scare. If they find us, we'll just have to show the little kiddies that they don't want to mess with people like us…savvy?"


	16. The One

"You know, he is kind of adorable in a way…" Lucy noted to Will as they watched the boy wander around the area, Will opened his mouth to speak yet missed his chance when they heard two voices coming from behind them.

"Where have you two been? You've been for-whoa! What happened to you two?" Lucy interrupted herself when she saw what state both Callie and Ray were in. Both were covered with bruises and scratches from their scramble to get away from the bobcat, not to mention their clothes had layers upon layers of dirt and mud stuck to them.

Neither of them even tried to explain their conditions. Neither of them even changed the tired and bewildered look off their faces. Callie just slowly held the bucket of water they went back to fetch after the fight with the bobcat out to Lucy.

"We got the water, that's all that matters…" Callie whispered as she stumbled past Lucy and Will to sit down. Once again, before Lucy even had time to react the boy snatched the bucket from her hands and tipped the bucket slightly so the water would pour in his mouth. He took one sip, let out a revolted noise and dropped the bucket on the ground, letting the water completely spill on the ground.

"Water tastes funny." He stated. Ray, Will, and Lucy looked at the spilled water with wide eyes, and then they moved their gazes to Callie. She sat on the log with the same wide eyes yet they didn't say the same thing as Ray's, Lucy's, and Will's. Hers were murderous and ready to attack. The three watching her luckily managed to block her way to the boy just as she lunged from her seat.

"Callie! Calm down, it's not worth it!" Ray yelled trying to console her.

"Ray! We spent two hours under a tree fighting a bobcat to get that water, and he dumps it on the ground in two seconds." Callie stated. Ray stood still for a moment before whirling around towards the boy.

"You little rat!" He yelled as he tried to get past Will to the boy.

"Calm down guys! George doesn't know any better." Will stated. Both Ray and Callie stopped struggling.

"George?" The said in unison.

"Yes, that's what we decided to call him." Lucy added. Callie let out an annoyed sigh.

"Guys, guys, guys. You're not supposed to name it. Once you name it, you get attached to it!"

"Well it's better than calling him the boy all the time!" Lucy retorted.

"I happen to like 'the boy', he's 'the boy!'" Callie said as if she was advertising him for something. Callie looked down at the bucket,

"The boy spilled the water…" Callie whispered before she broke out in a dry and almost pathetic sob.

"Alright, I'll go get water this time." Will stated as he picked up the bucket and started towards the trail Callie and Ray just came in from.

"Bring a buddy! Watch the bushes! Don't take your eyes off them!" Ray yelled almost hysterically.

"I'll go with him!" Lucy volunteered excitedly. Will nodded at her and continued down the trail. Lucy followed him for a few steps before turning around to face Callie and Ray again.

"Did you say you had to fight a bobcat before?" Lucy asked nervously. Callie and Ray nodded slowly.

"The bushes, watch them, they're tricky." Callie stated before closing her eyes to take a quick nap.

* * *

Will and Lucy returned back with water in five minutes or so. Callie was sound asleep while Ray stared blankly at a tree. Ray quickly looked at them once he realized they were back and went straight for the water. They let Callie sleep for a while before they decided it was time to wake her up. Will dipped his fingers in the remaining water they had saved for Callie and held them an inch or two above Callie's face. The water dripped from Will's fingers all over Callie's face; her cheeks, her eyes, her nose, her forehead, some drops even rolled into her ears. Will wiggled and shook his fingers to get the remaining water off and onto Callie's face. Callie's face shriveled slightly with distaste in her sleep and she swung her arm out, giving Will an open-palm slap in the face. 

"Ow!" Will fell backwards, holding his cheek. Callie abruptly sat up, Will's cry of pain shook her out of her cat nap. She did not seem too concerned about what she had just done to Will.

"I'm sure you deserved it." Callie stated and got up from her spot on the ground.

"Alright guys, we've stayed here way too long. We have to get going!" Callie stated as she started to pick up things that had gone astray from their packs. Within minutes they were soon on their way again to take George back to his tribe.

* * *

Will was still rubbing his cheek gingerly as they walked. 

"Now you know, you don't stay that close to Callie when you have to wake her up. You tap her, and then run back a few feet." Ray stated, acting out the proper maneuver to waking Callie up.

"Just be grateful she didn't punch you, now those hurt!" Ray said.

* * *

"Does Will ever talk about me?" Lucy asked Callie once she was sure they were far enough ahead of Will and Ray to talk. 

"What?" Callie asked, looking at Lucy like she was lunatic.

"Does Will ever, you know, talk about me?" Lucy asked hopefully.

"No." Callie stated quite rudely.

"Oh, well that's okay. I know he will soon."

Callie kept the same 'you're mad, what are you talking about?' expression.

Lucy noticed the expression and checked over her shoulder to see if Will or Ray was in earshot, they weren't.

"I've just realized Will's the one." Lucy whispered.

"The what?" Callie asked tiredly.

"The one. The perfect match for me." Lucy answered excitedly.

"Yuck! You're a boy liker now?" Callie gave Lucy an accusing look.

"You like boys! You're around them all the time."

"I like boys as friends, I don't like boys as lovers!" Callie stated, over exaggerating the word 'lover'. Callie stayed quiet for a few seconds before sticking out her tongue in a disgusted way and shook away whatever image that was in her head she did not want there.

"But he's so sweet, such a gentlemen-"

Callie let out a bored groan.

"-and he's really funny." Lucy continued. Callie made a few gagging noises.

"And comely-"

"Stop it before I lose my breakfast."

"What? You don't think he's at least a little comely?"

"The boy looks like a chipmunk!" Callie argued as she imitated the scrunched noise and puffed out cheeks that chipmunks sport.

"How can you be so cruel? He's your friend."

"He is my friend but that doesn't change the fact that he has rodent based looks." Callie said defensively. Lucy smiled deviously at her for a moment for turning her head over her shoulder.

"Hey Will! Callie just said you look like a chipmunk!" Lucy yelled back to Will. Callie looked at Lucy and smiled, before looking over her own shoulder.

"It's true, I did." Callie stated calmly.

Will's eyes widened at the comment, yet he didn't seem hurt for long.

"Oh I do? Well, you look like a…" Will trailed off for a moment, "… a frog!"

Callie opened her mouth wide; trying to act hurt but yet couldn't seem to conceal her smile.

"I do?" Callie asked.

"Yeah, you got bulbous eyes and a big neck!"

Callie threw her head back and laughed at that! She stopped walking and braced herself by setting her hands on her knees. Will caught up and stood in front of her, waiting for her to start walking again. After a while Callie finally managed to stand up straight, not without a red face however. Callie looked up at Will and saw that he was not without a red face and quivering mouth filled with concealed laughs as well.

Lucy, Ray, and George did not bother to wait for them; they continued walking down the path knowing that they'd catch up in no time. They did of course, although it was most defiantly not in no time. Their laughs consistently forced the both of them to stop for a breather every thirty seconds or so. When they finally caught up, they both resumed their spots earlier; Callie and Lucy walking in front with Will and Ray with George in the back.

Lucy looked at Callie from the side and smirked. Callie scoffed softly and looked over her shoulder at Will.

"You can have him." She stated to Lucy. "Will as the one. Weird."


	17. Questions

The clock in Inman and Anita's rang seven times as it shook Inman's out of his slumber. He slowly slipped out of the bed carefully, so he wouldn't wake up his still sleeping wife, and went to change into his work clothes. He wanted to give Mitch and Amus, their yard tenders, a hand with the work around their land.

Anita opened her eyes and saw her husband in ratty old clothes pacing about the room.

"We pay Amus and Mitch to work the land, you have no obligations to them." Anita croaked.

"Amus has early back problems and Mitch is getting older. I want to help them." Inman smiled.

"You're far too kind to be an aristocrat." Anita returned his smile.

"I did not get to where I am by simply being born. I had to work for it. I was not raised to be like them." Inman said as his buttoned the thin cuffs of his shirt.

"I am a wolf in sheep's skin."

"You are a sheep in wolf's skin." Anita said.

"And you fell for it, wolfy… I mean honey." Inman chuckled before he left the room. He passed the clock on his way to the stairs. He had to look at it twice before he realized it was set nearly three hours ahead than what the clock in his bedroom had read.

Inman quickened his pace as he started down the stairs. He saw his daughter Annette sitting at the table in the kitchen and abruptly stopped his pace.

"Did you know what happened to the clock in the hallway?" Inman asked.

"Nothing, it's ten o'clock." Annette stated.

"But my clock say's its seven o'clock."

"That's because Callie changed it."

"Why did Callie change it?"

"So you would wake up later."

"Why did she want me to wake up later?"

"So she could get a head start." Annette stated, and then looked up at her father for the first time since he had entered the room. She noticed the complete perplexed look on his face and nodded towards a letter on the corner of the table. She explains it all in her letter.

Inman quickly snatched the letter off the table and opened it so he could read it.

Dear Father,

Went to drop off the lunatic with his tribe. Be back in four days or so… not really sure. I set your clock back three hours, sorry but we need a good head start.

Inman looked up at Annette, his face becoming more and more worried. Annette smiled and pointed to the letter.

"Keep reading, you'll just love the end. "

Don't worry, I have everyone with me, we're okay. I'll be back once I'm free of this bizarre little boy once and for all.

Love Callie.

P.S When you're re-setting your clock be careful when you reach in it. About a month ago I brought a mouse home and it escaped, and I found it in your clock last night when I was setting it back. It wasn't moving and it smelled bad. It's kind of strange that you or mother didn't notice it. Maybe you should go to the doctor. Something's wrong with your sense of smell. Anyway, just watch out for that. Better yet, get a new clock.

Inman looked up at Annette in sheer horror.

"How long have you known about this?"

"I saw the letter when I woke up this morning." Annette answered.

"At?"

"Eight o'clock."

"Why didn't you tell us?" Inman yelled.

"Rosanne, Eve, and I were so happy we couldn't think straight." Annette said.

"I'll have a talk with you three later." Inman stated before he turned out of the kitchen.

"Anita! Get down here! Anita!" Inman called before turning back to Annette.

"Why did she bring a mouse home?" Annette shrugged her shoulders.

"You expect me to know that?"

Inman did answer, he knew she was right.

"Anita!" Inman began to call again as he raced out of the kitchen.


	18. A Cheap Drunk

"Where exactly are we?" Will asked as the five of them tromped farther and farther into the woods.

"We're in the middle of no where!" Lucy grumbled. "Callie has no idea where we're going." Callie whipped her gaze from the trail ahead of them and gazed at Lucy.

"I know exactly where we're going! We're going to the mad little bark eater's tribe." She stated defensively

"Okay then, you don't know which direction George's tribe is." Lucy said.

"Stop calling him George! He doesn't have a name, he's the boy!" Callie said, obviously tiring of the boy.

"What do you mean he doesn't have a name?-" Lucy began before something from the corner of her eye and she turned her entire head in that direction.

"Look! Smoke!" Lucy said. Callie, Will, and Ray all turned their heads to the left to see that Lucy was not wrong. Smoke was rising high and only a few yards from where they were. Callie took a sudden turn and started straight towards the smoke.

"Callie, what are you doing?" Ray yelled as he took off after her. Will soon followed, with Lucy and George right behind him.

"We should at least know who it is, so we know to run if it's someone from town." Callie explained as she pushed through the thick branches and shrubs blocking their path.

When they finally waded through the shrubs they came to the edge of a small hill. Callie quickly dropped on her stomach on the ground, while the others mimicked her one right after the other. For what seemed like forever they laid in the dirt, waiting for someone to come into their view.

"Callie let's go-" Ray started before Callie roughly slapped a hand over his mouth. Two men came into view from the trees. They were talking, although they were too far away to really understand what they were saying. Another man came running to them waving something in his hands.

"Look! I found me a new knife!" He yelled happily. Callie quickly brought her hand to her side for a second before letting her jaw drop angrily.

"That thief! He took my knife!" Callie said.

"You probably just dropped it while we were running." Ray said.

"Still… I've got to get it back." Callie watched the men for a moment and waited until they left their post at the bottom of the hill. Then Callie quickly stood up and started down the hill.

"Callie! What are you doing? We can't go down there!" Ray whispered harshly.

"Then you guys stay here! I'll go down!" Callie said as she continued down the hill.

Callie walked quickly down the hill and slid to her knees behind the bushes sitting at the foot of the hill. She alternated looking in the different spaces in the bushes so she could see the three men. They were sitting only a few meters away around a fire with their backs turned to Callie. The man who had her knife placed it just on a small boulder behind him along with a bottle of rum and turned back to the conversation he was having with the other two men. Callie took that as her cue to go for the knife.

Lucy, Ray, and Will held their breath as they watched Callie slowly creep up behind the sinister men. Callie stayed low to the ground as she crawled towards the men. The closer she got to them the better she could hear what they were saying.

"…I once lifted two hundred pounds." said one of them.

"Well I once lifted three hundred pounds." said the second man.

"That's nothing. I once lifted four hundred pounds." bragged the third man.

Callie rolled her eyes. _The engaging conversations of men,_ she thought to herself.

Callie brought herself right up against the boulder with the knife on top. She slowly sat up in a crouched position, careful not to make the dirt and gravel underneath her feet bring their attention to her. She lifted her head up a bit so she could get a peak at the men, and where they were looking.

Once their heads were fully turned Callie crept her hand over the where the knife sat. She felt something hard hit her fingers and she immediately grabbed it and pulled it to her side of the boulder. She rolled her eyes again, yet this time it was at her own stupidity, she had grabbed the rum instead of her knife. She moved her arm slightly as to throw it away, yet brought it back so she could take a tiny sip. Curiosity about that drink had been vexing children for generations and it was too tempting to just simply throw it away. She quickly brought the bottle to her lips and tipped the new liquid into her almost fully opened mouth.  
Ironically enough as soon as the drink hit her mouth all she wanted so do was spit it out. The drink filled her mouth quickly before she had a chance to take it away and now she was stuck with a mouthful of rum and no way to spit it out. If she did the men could hear, or see the rum leaving her mouth. She sighed quietly and gave a hard swallow to take the foul drink down. She stuck her tongue out and fanned it with her hand for a moment before pulling up her collar and wiping her tongue on it. She placed the bottle safely on the ground, gave her head a good shake, and reached up again for the knife.

"She's gonna get caught, she's gonna get caught, she's gonna get caught…" Ray whispered over and over again as they watched from above.

More than a few times Callie had to retract her arm in fear of one of the men seeing her, she waited for what seemed like hours for the perfect moment to grab the knife. During the time she felt the burning in her stomach fade away along her ability to really focus. Which made her mission a lot more difficult than it really was. Finally, Callie got the perfect chance to go for the knife; the men weren't looking and she actually noticed that this was the perfect chance to go for it.

Callie smiled as she felt her fingers wrap around the knife. She slowly started to drag it back when a rough hand wrap around her wrist and whipped her up on her feet.

"Well, well, well. What have we got 'ere? A rat! A thieving little rat!" The man cried. The three men at the fire quickly stood up and glared at Callie.

"A thieving drinking little rat!" One of the men stated as he pointed to the rum bottle on the ground.

The man holding Callie lifted her arm so high he was nearly lifting her up in the air. He pulled the knife from Callie's hand, pulled it from its small sheath and held it sideways at her throat.

"Don't take that tone with me!" Callie said, her words slightly slurred. "You know what?" She swung the man's arm away from her neck.

"I'm not even worried… 'cause I've got… help on the way…" Callie stalled and slurred at once.

"Uh, Callie?" Callie looked around and saw Ray, Will, Lucy, and George standing behind her. All of them had an arm or a shoulder being held roughly by one of the two men standing behind them.

"Hey!" She turned to her capture and pointed to them. "See? Help."

Everyone who was involved in the situation was staring at Callie in their own personal perplexed way.

"…and everyone thinks I'm a cheap drunk." The man holding Ray and Will muttered to the man holding Lucy and George.

"Speaking of drunks, maybe it's time to take these lil' whelps to the Captain." The man who stole Callie's knife suggested. Callie's capture pulled Callie away slightly to her could look her in the eye.

"Aye! To the Captain you go!"


	19. Parely?

"…Oh, a pirate's life is a wonderful life, they never bury your bones…uh! That's a bad one too." Captain Sparrow sang disgustedly as he swirled the remaining rum in his bottle around in tiny circles. A rapping movement came from the outside of the curtain of the tent. A few of his men came in, pulling five children in with them.

"Miniature trespassers, sir." One of the men stated. Captain Sparrow abruptly stood up and strutted up to the quizzical children.

"Well, well, well…" Captain Sparrow stated as he circled them once or twice.  
"You're very clever to have found our hideaway, sad part of it is you won't live to share the story…" The other pirates cackled behind them. Callie scoffed.

"He thinks this is supposed to scare us?" Callie draped an arm around Ray's shoulders and leaned heavily on him.

"Callie, be quiet!" Ray scolded.

"I never liked you Ray." Callie stated as she dropped her dead arm off of Ray. Callie shuffled from side to side until she finally looked up and saw Captain Sparrow's amused look. He bent down towards Callie.

"You're a little drunk aren't you?"

"You're a little ugly aren't ya?" Callie tried to sharply point at him but her arm was to limp to hold itself still. She ended up drapping her finger down his face, poked him in the eye a little bit, and got her finger caught on his bottom lip for a second. She held her finger in front of her for a second and wiped it on his shirt.

He opened his mouth, yet stopped his sentence before it could leave his lips. He just rolled his eyes slightly.

"I'll come talk to you when her senses come back, savvy?" He straightened up to talk to the men hovering above the children.

"Put them somewhere where they won't move, aye?"

"Aye sir." The men bellowed as they grabbed the children and led them away.

* * *

The pirates led them to their campfire, and one by one they were thrust gruffly against a wide tree and pinned there until the long piece of rope being wrapped around them held them securely in place. 

"You will curse the day your fore-fathers donated to your being." A pirate snarled in Ray's face.

"Ray has four fathers? Any chance the other three aren't drunks?" Callie asked with a slight slur still occupying her voice.

"Is there a chance you're a drunk?" Ray snapped. The pirates laughed hysterically at them as they walked away back to their fire.

"What is the matter with you?" Lucy yelled at Callie.

"Whatza matter with me, whatza matter with you?"

"Oh dear, she is drunk." Lucy said.

"I…am not-" Callie couldn't finish her sentence, she had become unconsciousness.

"Alright, now that Callie is consciously unavailable, what do we do?" Will asked.

"Don't ask me." Ray said.

"Well, who else? The one that comes up with all the bright ideas around here will be suffering from the aftermaths of alcohol in an hour or so." Will said. "Besides, you're always in on Callie's plans first. That makes you like… the first mate to her captain."

"I'm not the first mate! If anyone is the first mate it's you! Whenever we do anything she always makes sure she gets you included first, plus she tells you what your tasks are first!" Ray argued.

"But she always brings you along wherever she goes, doesn't matter if I'm there. You're the first mate!"

"I am not!" Ray yelled.

"Are too!" Will yelled back.

"You lil' bastards shut it over there!" An overweight pirate barked. Both Will and Ray abruptly shut their mouths.

* * *

No one talked for a while, for quite a while actually. At least an hour had passed. Callie was still sleeping off the rum, while Will, Ray, and Lucy sat quietly listening to the sound of George muttering to himself and squirming under the ropes. 

"Why am I not the first mate?" Lucy asked, breaking the silence finally.

"You have a plan to get us out of here?" Will asked.

"Yes, George will untie the ropes, he's already wiggled out from under them."

Ray and Will leaned far to the left to see where George was sitting before, which he had indeed freed himself from and was now pulling hard at the ropes. The two boys looked at each other, both impressed.

"She's good. She's first mate." Ray stated. George had worked his way around the tree to where the knots were located and was desperately fumbling with the tight knots. The constant rubbing of rope caused Callie to suddenly snap out of her deep sleep.

"What's going on?" Callie asked, slightly groggily.

"We're escaping." Lucy answered.

Callie raised an eyebrow at her and looked at the men sitting just a few feet in front of them.

"Umm, how exactly do you plan on getting past them?" Callie kicked her leg out sharply towards the men and looked at the three individually for an answer. In which they all drew nothing but blank stares. Callie rolled her eyes.

"Hang on." She said tiredly.

"Hello? Somebody? Oye!" Callie bellowed to the two men sitting at the fire.

"Chubs, Blinkey! Come over here!"  
"Blinkey?" Lucy asked.

"He's got a wooden eye, he's holding it in his hand." Callie pointed out. Lucy looked in the man's direction and saw that he was indeed holding a small wooden sphere with an iris and pupil painted on it. Lucy dropped her mouth open and it twisted in disgust.

Finally they responded to Callie's calls and stomped over to where she sat, not noticing George who was missing from his place against the tree.

"What?" The chubby pirate angrily asked.

"I've got a riddle for you. What's the word that starts with a P, and the ending sounds like the ending of the word fillet?" Callie asked.

"Parley." The man with the wooden eye answered. The chubby man whipped a murderous gaze towards the other man. Callie grinned like a cat.

"Alright, thank-you." She said. The two pirates looked at her curiously.

"That's it?" The wooden eyed man asked.

"Yep."

They both turned and started to walk back to their fire, when…

"Oh wait, one more thing." Suddenly they both stopped and turned to Callie.

"…Parley." Callie said sweetly.

The chubby one growled angrily and stomped over to her once again. With one strong pull he ripped Callie out of the ropes and they both began towing her towards the Captain's quarters. As they walked away Callie looked over her shoulder and raised a brow towards her friends.

"Keep working on those ropes George." Will said.

* * *

AN: Remember me? Sorry for a long overdue update. Just a lot of things going on now, plus I really don't want to mess up these chapters with Jack. Or any for that matter. Next chapter will include more of him I swear. Hope you enjoyed this chapter! 


	20. An odd interview

"Feeling better luv?" Jack asked huskily.

"Aren't you a little too old to be calling a child; especially a child my age, a name often used by spouses and lovers?" Callie asked curtly.

Jack Sparrow laughed, and bent down to look her in the eye.

"Then what should a child; especially a child your age, be called by?"

"By their name, but only if they've given it to you. If not then you shouldn't be addressing the child at all."

Jack raised his brow at her, and gave her an intimidating look. Not threatening, just intimidating.

"You wander onto my camp, try to commit a theft, drink my rum…" He said with a deep slightly angry voice.

"…and then accuse me of being some perverse man who enjoys the company of children, and refuse to give me your name so I can return you home…"

Callie rolled her eyes as the last part of his sentence came out of his mouth.

"As far as I'm concerned the fault is in no way in my possession. Didn't your mother ever teach you to stay away from strangers?" He asked.

"Didn't your mother ever teach you to comb your hair?" Callie asked, not completely sure what answer to give him. Jack furrowed his eyes slightly at the child before he relaxed his face once again.

"I could ask you the exact same thing." He said quite childishly and flipped one of the many tangled red curls hanging around Callie's face, before folding his arms triumphantly.

Callie shrugged her shoulders lazily, acting as though she was getting bored of their conversation. Jack picked up a lock of his hair and examined it for a moment.  
"Perhaps I should give myself a little…" He trailed off as he reached for something on his belt.

"Hair-cut." He finished as he pulled Callie's knife into view and waved it tauntingly at her. Callie's mouth suddenly dropped open.

"Whoa! That's my knife!" Callie lunged a little towards Jack; causing him to stumble from his squat. He recovered himself quickly and stood up to his full height. In a flash Callie made a grab for his hand, yet he gave a startled jump away from her, forcing her to reach for nothing.

"Give it back!" Callie demanded as she made several attempts for the knife; failing each time.

"This is quite a good knife," Jack stated, he was enjoying the cruel game he was playing. Callie made another violent grab for the knife. She made contact with it for a second, yet Jack quickly slid it out of her hand just as fast, and Callie fell hard to the ground.

"I think I'll give it to ol' Bootstrap. It's his birthday next week."

Callie scoffed, "Bootstrap" she muttered. She was sitting cross legged in the dirt like a stubborn toddler. She even sported the same scrunched up face and folded arms.

"And your name is any better?" Jack asked as he took a seat in the dirt right across from her.

"Ca-" She began before stopping herself. She smirked and tapped her temple.

"Tricky."

* * *

Will glanced nervously at the pirates as the rope's grip at him got looser and looser. Once the ropes fell limp in their laps Ray, Will, and Lucy stood up, yet quickly returned to sitting down. Getting up would be foolish without having a plan first. 

"What do we do?" Lucy asked.

"What do you mean 'what do we do?' we run!" Ray said.

"But we can't leave Callie. Anyway what if she's making a deal to let us go?"

"Callie put up the distraction for us to get away; we have to use this chance. Callie's tough, she can take care of herself."

"No, Lucy's right. I'm sure Callie's negotiation our release right now." Will stated surely.

* * *

"Is it… Caroline?" Jack asked. Callie shook her head. 

"Ca…ssandra?" Callie gave him another negative look.

"Ca-…" Jack began.

"Can I change the subject?" Callie interrupted. Jack raised his hand gently, beckoning her to speak.

"Why exactly are we being kept here?" Callie asked in her most serious tone.

Jack leaned back a bit, as if he was blown away by her question before leaning back towards her.

"Why do you think you're being kept here?"

"Well, it's not quite obvious to me yet. It's either a hope for a ransom; which is why you're pressing me for my name, or possibly a chance to make history by brutally murdering us."

Jack's eyes widened with amusement.

"And how exactly would your life be taken away by us?"

Callie scrunched her face to the left, thinking as she rolled her eyes from side to side. Obviously she was exaggerating her thinking process to make things more interesting.

"Hard to say, if we were on a ship I'd say you'd hack us up and use our innards as warning flags." Jack jerked his head back a little and looked oddly at the child, Callie just nodded.

"And the best thing is no one would really think it was you because we went missing in the woods, and pirates aren't in the woods…but since you are here in these parts, I'd say you'd…" Callie trailed off again, thinking.

Callie seemed to sit there for a while. Jack stared at her for a good portion of it, and spent the rest looking at their surrounds with bored eyes.

"Today please."

Callie eyes seemed to spark as an idea entered her mind. She snapped her head back up from its hunched thinking position and bobbed it excitedly.

"I got it. Now I seriously doubt you would hack us up here since it'd be too hard to cover up the blood and evidence, so my guess would be resorting to native techniques. Squeezing our guts out with rawhide or bash our heads in or even scallop us."

Jack held up a finger to stop her for a moment.

"If we split open your heads there would still be blood."

"Yes, but with those techniques people would think natives were behind them." Callie trailed off for a second. She studied him for a moment, and then started again.

"…However, by the looks of you, I'd say you're the one who enjoys having his name known by others."

Jack opened his mouth to speak however was cut off yet again by Callie.

"Actually, I retract my theory of you murdering us. You're the kind who'd want us to spread the word of your terror." Callie said with a deep husky voice.

"Ah, smart little lass you are. Where did you acquire such a fine education?" Jack asked.

"Comes with the hair." Callie stated as she flipped the same strand as before.

* * *

"What on earth is taking so long?" Ray groaned anxiously. 

"She's coming, don't worry." Lucy stated. "Just a few more minutes."

George, now tired of hiding behind the tree, decided to wander around the huge tree trunk to where the others were sitting. He began tugging at Will's sleeve.

"I want wataa." He whispered.

"Not now." Will answered, trying to shake him off his sleeve.

"I want wataa." George repeated, more loudly this time.

"Will get him to be quiet, they're going to notice he's out of the ropes." Ray hissed. Will took his arm and yanked him down to the ground and shushed him. Quickly as he could Will pulled the loose ropes over George's lap so it would seem he was still tied up before anyone noticed.

For a moment one of the pirates looked in their direction, yet turned away once he saw the ropes still surrounding them. Then it seemed like they all let out a breath of relief at the same time.

"That's it, with or without Callie we've got to make a run for it now." Lucy said.

"You're the first mate." Ray said.

* * *

AN: Sorry, I'm getting kinda lazy with updating. I didn't bother much with typing in a pirate accent for Jack since I suck at it so you'll just have to cope without one. Hope you all liked it. 


	21. Wait up!

Will, Lucy, Ray, and George slowly rose to their feet; being careful not to draw attention to themselves.

"So what exactly is our plan?" Ray whispered.  
"We make a break for the hill, and hopefully we can get up before they notice we're gone." Will said.

"Why don't we just make a break for it down the river?" Ray asked.

"On foot? They'd catch us within minutes!" Will argued.

"Boot!" George said. The three of them looked at him for a second and hissed "sssh!"

"Well we'd have a better chance on foot moving away from them rather than simply moving up!" Ray said.

"Booot!" George said again.

"Hush!" Lucy whispered harshly to him.

"Will's right. We'd be better off going up the hill, our chances are just better. If we hurry and get up it quickly we'd be given a big advantage." Lucy said.

"Boot!" George said impatiently, pointing ahead. Will, Lucy, and Ray all looked at George and then in the direction of where he was pointing. George was referring to the river, which was a little off in the distance, and right beside the river was a rowboat. Then as if they had planned it that way, their mouths fell open one right after the other.

"Okay, well maybe we can out run them on the boat." Will said plainly.

* * *

"Listen, not that this isn't fun, but I really think we need to talk about our release." Callie stood up and looked down at Jack in a professional matter. 

Jack's amused smile stiffened into a more serious look.

"And what about your release?"

"Is it going to happen anytime soon, or even at all?" Callie asked.

"You're quite eager to go home, however you seem like the type that doesn't fit into the normal crowd."

Callie shrugged. "They don't fit in with me." Jack laughed.

"Wouldn't you rather be with people that did fit in with you?" He asked.

"That is extremely hard to find. Trust me." Callie said, laughing to herself a little bit from all the memories rushing into her head.

"Well, maybe you're not looking in the right place."

"And the sea is the place to find them?" Callie said skeptically.

"Might as well search somewhere you've never been to before." Jack stated.

"I've been to the sea." Callie said. "My father is part of the Royal Navy. He used to take me out on some voyages."

"A Royal Navy ship…I see. Never been on a pirate's ship?" Callie found it interesting how when he spoke of a Royal Navy ship he used a dull tone and yet when he said a pirate's ship he sounded just like an obese child when given a piece of cake. Callie shook her head, as an answer to his question.

"Ever wanted to be one on?" Jack asked.

Callie stayed expressionless for a few moments. This man was offering her the chance to sail the open seas forever. As she said before her father took her on some of his voyages. The ones without guaranteed dangerous and life threatening situations, of course. Callie loved the sea. She loved the unpredictability of it, since Willow's Bend is nothing but predictable.

"Are you still with me?" Jack asked after watching her blank face for two minutes or so. Callie's glazed over eyes quickly snapped back to look at Jack.

"Yes." Callie answered. "To both questions." Jack tipped his head back happily.

"Do you want to leave here on a pirate ship?"

Callie smiled and shook her head. "No."

Jack raised his brow, no doubt surprised by her answer.

"My father…my family, they'd be heartbroken." Callie explained. She stared off into space a little bit again before continuing to justify her answer.

"Well I guess Rose, Eve, and Annie; they're my sisters, they'd be thrilled with my absence at first but I know they'd be bored with their lives after two weeks without me. " Callie said confidently.

"You're sure about that?" Jack asked.

"Yes, besides that I have _got_ to get rid of the little one hanging around us. We left home to take him back to his tribe." Jack's eyes widened with a sudden new interest and he snapped his fingers.

"That's right! There are other children here. Let's ask them what they would like to do."

Jack took Callie by the arm and led her to where the others were kept.

"Oh children?..." Jack called before he abruptly stopped dead in his tracks as he saw the empty ropes wrapped around the tree trunk.

"That's interesting." Jack said. Callie shared the same surprised look as Jack had at the vacant spot where her friends once sat. She looked around quickly, swishing her head this way and that until she found them.

They were a few yards off or so by the river; fighting to push a boat into the water. She smiled and whipped her gaze back at Jack, who was giving her a questioning look that said _"and what do you know about this?" _

Callie kept her smile strong and sly as she spoke.

"You do realize that if you plan taking us to your ship you will have to catch us first!"

Swiftly Callie twisted her arm free of Jack's grasp and sent her other hand shooting into Jack's most favorite and delicate area. Jack sucked in the air sharply and quickly bent over in pain and Callie took off running as soon as she was sure he could not come after her.

"Wait up you rotters!" Callie yelled as she headed for the river.

"Oye! They're getting away!" Jack called to the other pirates. Callie looked over and shoulder and saw three pirates starting to run after her, and when she looked back ahead there were the two pirates that got mad at her over the parley incident stood just a few feet away from her. Also a few feet ahead of them was a pirate running towards the boat with Ray, Lucy, and Will yelling frantically at Callie. Callie sped up to outrun the pirates although the one heading towards the boat was getting too close, so Ray and Will started to push the boat fully into the water.

As Callie came up to the two that blocked her way she quickly dropped to the ground and somersaulted through the gap between the two of them and continued to run as soon as she quickly recovered to the standing position. Now there were five pirates chasing her, two very close behind her, three a little bit off behind them, with one ahead of her and the boat was quickly starting to float away. Callie sped up a little more although she could feel one of the pirate's hands swat occasionally at her hair. There was only one way to get them off her tail, Callie abruptly took a sharp left and started to run in that direction.

The two pirates who were following her tried to imitate her sharp left however it caused a collision between the two; since they were running side by side, and they both fell hard to the ground. Callie kept running hard for the boat; although now that it was moving she had to run along and towards the river. (A/N She's going diagonally instead of straight towards the river, in case you don't understand.) She was now gaining on the pirate that was chasing the boat, although he didn't seem to notice. Once she was close enough behind him she took advantage of the moment. She lunged forward and grabbed his legs, causing him to crash to the ground. Then once again she quickly scrambled to her feet and was moving faster than she ever had before, for now she had six pirates chasing her, maybe even seven if Jack's cherries would allow him to.

"Come on Callie!"

"Hurry up!"

"Go! Go! Keep going!"

"I like wataaaa!" Will, Lucy, Ray, and George yelled from the boat as its speed steadily increased.

Callie's breaths were turning into very sharp pants and her muscles were becoming very stiff however she kept going at that speed because she knew if she slowed down at all they would catch her. She took another sharp turn to the right, jumped over a few logs and shrubs and now she was right on the river's edge with the boat just a few feet away.

Luckily Callie was very used to jumping over things to get away from people therefore she could do it more swiftly than others, that gave her a second or so of a head start.

"Okay legs, just one more time…" Callie panted to herself as she forced her legs to quicken their pace one more time.

Will grabbed an oar and started to dig it into the bottom of the river to slow it down a little for Callie, it worked somewhat. Callie got just a foot away from the boat before she made a lunge for it. She landed in the water but she managed to grab onto the back of the boat, where Ray and Lucy immediately started to pull her into the boat. Will immediately stopped dragging the oar and started pushing them away from the shore so they could be picked up by the rapids. Once Callie was in the boat Ray grabbed the other oar and both Ray and Will started to row. They both rowed like madmen and didn't stop until the combination of the rapids and their own oars put them safely away from the pirates.

Callie sat on the floor of the boat and rested her back on the side of it. Her breath was coming in huge ragged pants and there was sweat dripping off her forehead. It wasn't until her breathing started to go back to normal before she noticed everyone was staring at her with concern. She smiled loosely at them since her mouth was too tired from trying to catch her breath.

"Thanks for waiting up."

* * *

A/N: Wow I was just re-reading some of the previous chapters and there's some odd mistakes in there! Sorry guys, I'm gonna be more careful of that from now on. Just wait for the next chapter there's a bit of a twist coming up. Hope you all enjoyed this! 


	22. Old Friends

The pirates watched their previous captives float away as they panted desperately. When they walked back to the camp they saw Jack sitting by the fire with his legs spread practically a meter apart. His eyes were rolled almost completely to the back of his head and his mouth was twisted in a painful grimace. Once he heard their approaching footsteps, however, he quickly wiped the look off his face and replaced it with a hopeful one. Although he only kept that one for a short time too once he saw their hands empty.

"Well, obviously we need to cut down on the food you eat, since you're all so fat you can't even catch some small children." Jack stated to them with a strained voice.

"The bloody little thing runs like a Giselle!" One of the pirates stated defensively.

"And she fights dirty!" The pirate Callie tackled said as he gingerly rubbed a scrape on his arm.

"Rub some dirt into it and go do something constructive!" Jack waved the pirate away.

"…that goes for all of you." Jack barked to the rest of them. They all turned from him rather sourly and headed towards something that would occupy their time.

"Can't say I blame him. If some little brat hit me in the grapes I'd be spitting fire too." The chubby pirate said to his one eyed friend.

* * *

Inman's eyes fluttered open and closed continuously as his horse slowly swayed from side to side. They had been traveling for at least a day and a half non-stop by then looking for the missing children. When he had first shared the news with the rest of the people in town the concern he received from them was very minimal. In fact some people saw the situation fit to celebrate. 

Outraged by the town's reactions, Inman took it upon himself to visit the town elders for support. The town elders, like the rest of the town, were not exceptionally fond of Callie so they saw no need to "mess with a good thing." Then knowing he had no town support, Inman rode with haste to Charlestown. Then the next morning he came back with his own shipmates he had recruited to help him find his missing daughter and her friends. The townspeople cried in despair as he rode through town with his men, knowing why he had brought them there. Inman was even offered money, and was even given a few threats more than once by the people in hopes to stop him from bringing "the heathen" back to their town.

Telling the children's parents of their disappearance wasn't too difficult. Ray lived with his grandparents Mary and Frank, who were in fact Inman's parents. Plus he didn't bother with Tim and Gavin since they barely seemed to pay the slightest bit of attention to Will, plus he had already been shot at several times by the town's citizens in the past few days and just wasn't in the mood for it. The only real problem was Lucy's parents; Jonah and Rebecca Mackenzie. Jonah Mackenzie was a missionary in his younger days and was until recently the town pastor. Rebecca Mackenzie, Inman could have sworn, used to be a nun. She was always calm and sometimes nauseatingly pleasant, and she was also a dedicated follower of the church. Now being like themselves and having their only daughter have a friend like Callie was something they were less than thrilled about. "A juvenile sinner that's heading nowhere except into a loop in a noose!" was what they (meaning Jonah) often called her.

Telling them about their daughter was about as fun as having to constantly answer awkward questions to his own daughters that he'd rather just forget about. Jonah shook his head like he wasn't surprised at all and Rebecca did her signature cry which was when she was visibly crying but no sound came out. That look always made Inman cringe.

* * *

Inman's consciousness suddenly snapped back to him as the tracking hounds bayed when they caught their scent. Inman and his fellow members of the search party suddenly high-tailed it down the trail in order to keep up with the dogs. They seemed to be hot on their trail when they hit a clearing by a river, where the dog's baying abruptly stopped. 

They had run through an abandoned camp site and right towards the river. The hounds bayed again alongside the river a few feet before stopping again; totally disoriented.

"I'll look over there." Inman's first mate Howell said as he led his horse down alongside the river to where the dogs had stopped. Inman knew who had been there before. He knew this campsite well; he paid frequent visits to this spot with the site's previous visitors.

When Inman was younger he sailed the open seas with pirates. He had first left Willow's Bend with the wish to travel the world before he settled down and married. He was just barely eighteen at the time. He traveled around for a few months before meeting a peculiar young man around the same age as him by the name of Jack Sparrow in Barcelona. They quickly became friends that night and Jack convinced Inman to join his crew, knowing that Inman longed to be free and independent for a good long while. Inman accepted his offer and sailed on that ship for a good five years. He was twenty-three when they took port in France and he met Anita Debois Sudris. He decided to stay behind in France in hopes of winning Anita's heart. Inman and Anita married within two months and they returned to Willow's Bend.

Later on, when Anita was pregnant for the first time, Inman took a position in the Royal Navy to get a better income for his growing family. Inman was seen as a highly adequate and worthy officer to his superiors which fortunately resulted in many promotions. As Inman was hovering between the position of lieutenant and post-captain he crossed paths with Jack Sparrow once again. Their ship had been captured by the Royal Navy and as the Captain of the ship was taking care of business with the ship, he left Inman in charge of watching over the prisoners. Inman let them go free, although he made it sound like they outsmarted him and escaped.

The captain was furious and make Inman pay for his carelessness of letting them escape, thus making his movement through the Royal Navy food chain a bit slower. Although that tactic did end up in Inman's favor. Jack made a promise to Inman to share with him the secrets of oversea heists and crimes as long as Inman kept the Royal Navy off his back. With that, Inman became legendary for his arrests and captures of murderous pirates and he almost sky-rocketed to the position of Captain within a few months, while Captain Jack Sparrow remained untouched by the Royal Navy.

This campsite was where Jack and himself would meet to discuss what was happening on the sea. Inman had planned to meet him a few days ago although the huge deal with Callie had diverted his mind from it. Now Inman's blood was cold as he thought of his little girl in the hands of these pirates, also that she would find out that her beloved father was associated with those pirates.

Inman passed Howell and continued on the narrow path alongside the river. He rode for a few yards until he found what he was looking for. To be totally honest he was quite surprised with catching up to them so quickly however he soon realized why. They were all using their swords to chop down the trees, and having a heck of a time doing it. They had at least a dozen of them piled up and were still working for more. He quickly got off the horse and coolly strolled over to them. He stopped in front of Jack Sparrow and gave him an amused look.

"So are you too good for the water now? Making your own little log cabin to live in? Become woodsmen instead?" Inman asked teasingly.

"I'd rather sell my grapes to a retired castrati." Jack said bitterly.

"Our boat got stolen. We have to make a raft."

Inman raised his brow and looked around a bit.

"By whom? A chipmunk? There are no other people for-" Inman stopped mid sentence when his memory of why he was here came flooding back to him.

"Did it happen to be five small children that took it?" Inman asked painfully. Jack's eyes widened a bit before he relaxed again.

"No, it wasn't five children. It was five men… big, burley men, with…clubs, and hair all over, and tattoos, and…missing teeth and-"

Inman's eyes narrowed, he not believing him one bit.

"Alright! It was five children. But they weren't small. Enormous things there were, almost mistook them for bald bears for a moment-"

Inman kept the same look.

"Fine! Alright! They were small, but they were cunning little things. Well, actually I only talked to one and that one was cunning but you get what I'm saying."

"Was she a little girl? With red hair and about this tall?" Inman asked as he held his hand slightly below his hip. Jack raised his brow with surprise at Inman's incredible accuracy. Until he replaced it with a sly grin once he figured it all out.

"She's yours, isn't she?" Jack asked.

Inman rolled his eyes a little and nodded.

"Ran away from home did she?"

Inman nodded again.

"And now you need me to tell you where they went."

"Yes." Inman said.

Jack smiled and took a seat on a stump.

"I will tell you only one bit of information, as always. I can either tell you where your daughter is, or give you the usual information about what's happening on the sea lately, in return for our safety on the seas and from the scouts you have lurking around our campsite. "

Inman narrowed his eyes at his friend's devious offer.

"Just so you know, this bit of oversea information could very well put you in the perfect position for a promotion, Commodore Caldwell."

Inman smiled and shook his head.

"Not everyone is willing to sell their soul for their work, Jack. You know as good as I do that if I were to be Commodore, I would have to leave Willows Bend permanently. I would have to move my family, I couldn't do that to them." Inman kept his smile strong as Jack's faded slightly.

"Seeing as though your sweet child has disappeared, one could think she would be thrilled to leave that one horse town. Your other children too, Bebe, Daisy…Kiddo." Jack stated.

"That one horse town keeps them calm." Inman lied; Callie face came flooding into his mind, although who was Jack to call him on it. "Besides, I'm their father and I know what's best for them. Now where is my daughter?"

Jack rolled his eyes slightly and pointed to the river.

"Stole the boat and went onto the river about six hours ago."

"Damn, blast it!" Inman muttered to himself nervously.

"That river is swarming with danger, 'gators, rapids…" Inman explained without an invitation. He held his forehead nervously as he paced about a bit.

"Even if they do make it past the river they won't get past the Indians. I've got to go!" Inman ran back to his horse in a flash.

"If you're going to be worried about anybody, be worried about us! We have to go down that same river on a rickety raft!" Jack yelled to him.

"Oh Inman? What about your half of the bargain?"

"Just hide for the next two minutes; they'll be riding too fast to notice. Hide now." Inman stated as he threw his head behind him.

"Howell!" Inman yelled, "This way!" Inman threw his hand up for a second to say good-bye before he and his horse dashed down the trail. Then a few seconds later the others came past, and just as Inman had said, Howell and the others raced past them without even noticing their bad hiding spots or the evidence of their presence.

* * *

**A/N: Just thought I'd give you some background information on Inman, since he's one of the main characters you don't learn much about throughout the story. Plus you get a bit of a preview of what's going to happen in later chapters. This is unfortunately the last chapter with Jack in it, but he definatley will be in the continued series if I decide to do them. **


	23. Will's secret trinket

"Boy, come down here and eat your supper!" Time barked up the stairs. He came back to the table and took his seat across from Gavin. They started to eat and then glanced at the plate in front of Will's chair with about eight of their last meals piled up on the plate.

"Where the hell is that boy?" Tim asked.

* * *

The sun was almost set once the river started to really calm down. They were all tired and hungry, since they left their bags packed with their food back at the campsite. It did not take them long before they all had passed out from sheer exhaustion. 

A few hours later Callie's eyes fluttered open to the bright moonlight looming over the boat. Callie wiped her eyes a bit and stretched as she sat up. Ray, Lucy, and George were slumped all over the place in a deep sleep. Callie looked to the front edge of the boat and saw Will sitting there. His head was bowed down and he was cradling something in his hands. Callie wasn't sure what if was but it sure sparkled in the moonlight.

"What's that you got there?" Callie asked. Will jumped roughly and quickly placed whatever he was holding back into his shirt.

"Nothing." Will answered quickly. Callie smiled deviously as she realized she hit a sensitive topic.

"What was that?" Callie asked again with more interest. Will didn't answer; he just shrugged his shoulders and shifted his eyes.

"What is it?" Callie asked once more are she got up from her seat.

"What is it? Come on, tell me!" Callie whined as she climbed over the sleeping bodies on the bottom of the boat.

"What's under your shirt? What was that? Huh? Tell me! Hu-OW!" Callie tripped roughly over someone's sleeping limb before quickly recovering to her feet.

"Come oooon!" Callie whined again as she plunked herself down beside Will.

"Tell me, tell me, tell me, tell me…" Callie continued as she made constant grabs at Will to get whatever it was out from under his shirt.

"You know, I really pity the man you end up _MARRYING!" _Will yelped as Callie managed to get her hands under his shirt and grabbed the chain. Will snatched Callie's wrist and pulled her hand away. Although as he did that, his secret trinket came out of Will's shirt along with Callie's hand. Callie turned her head sideways as she looked at what was on the end of the chain and raised her brow at Will.

"Will, are you a reincarnated version of King Tut?" Callie asked with a fake look of wonder. Will frowned at her.

"King Tut didn't wear anything with skulls on it." Will stated.

"How would you know that… unless you were there?" Callie pointed at him proudly. Will smiled and rolled his eyes. Will pulled the chain out of Callie's hand and held it gingerly in his own.

"My father sent it to me for my fourth birthday. It's the only thing I have ever had of him. " Will explained with a small hint of sadness in his voice.

Will was half expecting Callie to feed off his feelings for a smug remark like she normally would although she stayed surprisingly quiet. All she did was hold out her hand, silently asking him to let her see it. Will gently placed it into her hands and Callie brought it close to her face. She spent quite a few minutes just examining it.

"I think I've seen one of these before." Callie stated. Will's mouth fell open in surprise.

"Where?" He asked.

"I think I saw one of these in my father's office one time." Callie recalled. Will's face seemed to stay stuck in surprise mode. If Inman had one of those coins could he have possibly been there when his father got his? Could Inman know who his father was and where he was?

"When's your birthday?" Callie asked, changing the subject absent mindedly. Will shook himself out of his shocked face and turned to her.

"What? Oh, June 12th." He answered.

"No way!" Callie half laughed.

"What?"

"That's my birthday too!" Will smiled.

"What a coincidence." Will said quietly.

"It's coming up now, isn't it?" Callie said, her eyes rolling back as she thought of the date.

"Yeah, it is." Will said, a little nervously. Callie smiled her usual smile.

"Well then, I guess we'll just have to have a double party then, won't we?" She noticed Will's nervous look.

"Oh don't worry; my parties are always a big bang!"

"That's what I'm afraid of." Will stated.

* * *

**A/N: Just a short chapter, I got the urge to write another chapter after I posted the last one. Keep your eye out for the next post, it's going to be a big one! **


	24. River rapids and 'gators

The next day was simply miserable, weather wise, with thick clouds and chilling winds. Will awoke with the shock of the river's cold water splashing right in his face. Will sat up quickly and wiped the water off his face. He looked up and saw the clouds above looking angry and ready to strike at any moment. Then suddenly the edge of the boat bumped roughly against some rocks causing Will to lunge forward onto the sleeping bodies bellow him.

The all cried out in pain, strain, and anger.

"Ow! What the-"

"Hey get off my legs!"

"Watch where you're sticking that elbow!"

"Sorry! Sorry!"

"Get off me!"

"I'm trying!"

"Wataaa!"

They had finally managed to untangle themselves from each other when another huge crash knocked them together all over again. George head-butted Ray in the groin. Ray cried out in pain and fell backwards against Lucy. Lucy fell forward with her hands held straight out, that made contact with Callie. They pushed Callie forward and her head slammed painfully into Will's head, then they both light-headedly fell to the floor.

"Wataaa!" George cried, pointing ahead. They all slowly rose back to their feet to see what he was pointing to. To their horror, they saw at least five miles of foamy angry rapids just waiting to swallow their teeny boat.

"Oh jeez!" Lucy cried.

"Everyone sit down and hold on!" Callie yelled.

They all quickly sat down and held on tightly to whatever they could get a hold of. It was almost as if there was a direct line dividing crazy rapids from moderately calm ones, since they just passed over a certain area and all hell broke loose.

Water came crashing and spilling over the sides of the boat. The waves knocked Lucy and George off their seats and almost submerged them in the bottom of the boat. Lucy shrieked from the heart-stopping cold of the water and scrambled back onto her seat. She grabbed George out of the water and pulled him on her seat and held a strong arm around him.

"You alright?" Will called to Lucy.

"Yeah!" Lucy answered a little shakily.

"Well hang on! We've got more to come!" Will cried. Callie looked ahead and saw their boat rearing towards the rocky edge. She leaning back to grab an oar from the bottom of the boat. She quickly pulled it over the side of the boat and frantically started to cram it against the rocks to push them away from their sharp ends. Once they were safely away from the rocks Callie put the oar in the water and started paddling like crazy.

"Somebody grab the other oar!" Callie cried. Ray pulled the oar into the water and started imitating Callie's swift movements.

It was at that moment that Callie felt that she was in complete control of what was happening. Callie stuck her arm out straight.

"Keep us going as straight as possible Ray!" Callie ordered. Ray followed closely with Callie's commands as they struggled their way through the rapids as best they could.

"Down!" Callie yelled as a huge wave came rolling up on their boat. Quickly they all dropped to the bottom of the boat to block themselves from the powerful wave. It did however knock the rowboat roughly to the left.

"Ray!" Callie called. "Get us over to the left!" Ray frantically paddled to the right to get them away from the jagged edges however during his efforts he snapped the top of the oar completely off.

"Cal!" Ray yelled. Callie looked back and Ray held up the broken oar. Callie jumped up from her seat and clumsily climbed to the back of the boat. She then stuck the oar back in the water in a desperate effort to keep on track. A few more bumps and crashes hit their boat hard, forcing Callie to try twice as hard to get them back on course. Luckily they were nearing the end of the rapids; the river gave them one final huge wave and finally spit the rowboat out onto calmer waters.

"Pheww!" Callie breathed as she laid the oar down in the boat and wiped a wet strand of hair that was matted on her forehead away. Taking Callie's lead, everyone else slowly started to calm down. Lucy looked down at her hands on the side of the boat; her knuckles were ghostly white she was holding on so tight.

"I can't tell if my pants are wet from the water or from me!" Ray half laughed, half spat out.

"It's probably both!" Will said, still a little shaken. Callie chuckled and leaned forward towards George.

"You finally got your water, kid." Callie stated as she roughly placed her hand on top of his head and ruffled his head hair.

* * *

A half hour had passed and the children were just finally started to relax after their dangerous encounter. The boat now glided smoothly across the surface of the water, they didn't even need the oar to keep them going straight. Callie sat on the end of the boat with half of her body leaning over the edge, her hand lying lazily in the water and making a small trail as it was drug along with the boat.

"How much farther away is this camp?" Ray asked tiredly as his stomach made loud growling noises. Callie lifted her body from the side of the boat and twisted it towards him.

"What camp?" she asked. Ray, Lucy, and Will all looked at her in awe.

"The one that this little guy lives in!" Ray said, pointing at George.

"The one we've risked our lives more than once to get to!"

Callie stared at them with a blank expression for a few seconds before her eyes quickly widened and she mouth formed an o.

"Right." Callie turned back to the back of the boat.

"Well?" Will asked. Callie turned back again, a little annoyed with them.

"Well, what?" Callie asked tiredly.

"How far is the camp?" Will asked.

"How should I know? We lost the map." Callie returned once again to facing the boat's back end.

"Well then how do you expect us to find the camp?" Ray asked.

"We'll see it. Don't worry." Callie stated, not bothering to turn around again.

"How do you know?" Ray asked.

"I just know, okay?" Callie snapped.

"She doesn't know; she's just too proud to admit it." Ray grumbled.

Callie heard that comment, yet was too drained physically and emotionally to do anything about it. She watched the water swish past under her hand for a bit before she saw a quick flash swipe under the water's surface. Callie quickly came back to life as she jumped and pulled her hand out of the water.

"What was that?" Callie asked out loud as she brought her face close to the water's edge.

"What?" Ray asked as he came to the end of the boat and peered into the water as well.

"I saw something whip under the boat." Callie said as she searched the now empty bottom of the river.

"Probably just a fish." Will suggested. Callie shook her head.

"This thing was way bigger. If it's a fish then it has to stop eating what it's eating before its too big to fit in the river."

"Uh…people?" Lucy said nervously as she pointed to the river beds. The color drained from her face as she pointed at the half a dozen alligators snoozing on the sand no more than a few feet in front of them.

"Wow," Callie stated simply. "Those are, uh, those are 'gators."

"You think?" Lucy hissed.

"Wonder where they all came from. I didn't think they stayed in packs like this." Callie said.

"They're probably here for the five course supper! Could we please get out of here?" Lucy whispered helplessly, even though it was totally unnecessary for her to whisper. Callie brought out their oar again and dipped it into the water. Not one minute later, something big roughly hit the bottom of the boat, causing them all to shake roughly from side to side.

"What are they doing?" Lucy asked nervously.

"Nothing, they're probably just swimming around." Callie stated before a 'gator popped out of the water with its jaws snapping angrily at the children. Lucy and George leapt from their seats to the other side of the boat, causing it to tilt dangerously to the side.

"Lucy! Don't to that!" Callie roared as she jumped from her seat to the side where Lucy and George were sitting. She raised the oar highly and quickly brought it down hard on the 'gators head, causing it to quickly retreat from its attack. Lucy and George did not move from their spot, and the left side of the boat (where Callie was) was now slowly rising up out of the water.

"Somebody move over here! Move, move!" Callie ordered frantically as she desperately tried to put all of her weight on that side of the boat. Ray and Will quickly did as she ordered and moved to her side. George and Lucy were still too frightened to acknowledge the slightest thing from the others. Callie turned to the riverbanks and saw that the alligators were no longer inhabiting the sand; they were in the water now.

"Okay, now we might have to brace ourselves for what might happen next." Callie said calmly.

"Brace ourselves for what?" Will asked nervously. Just then two more 'gators popped out of the water, snapping at their potential meal. Everyone jerked and scrambled around in panic. Lucy threw herself hard against the side of the boat, with Ray and George on that side as well, causing the boat to really tip. Will grabbed the opposite side of the boat in a last attempt to even out the weight, and Callie followed that attempt. However half of the boat was already submerged and their side was quickly flipping over the other way. The rowboat flipped completely, with all its passengers scrambling frantically to get to the surface. The crash of the rowboat had scared the 'gators away temporarily although they gradually came floating back as the water around the boat calmed down once again. Coughing and sputtering they all came to the surface and helped each other crawl on top of the rowboat. Callie whipped her head around a bit, looking for something.

"Where's the oar?" Callie asked. She looked ahead and saw it floating just a few feet ahead of the boat. Callie crawled to the front and leaned forward as much as she could to reach the oar.

"Callie, don't!" Will called. Callie whipped her gaze to him; he shook his head nervously at her.

"We need the oar!" Callie said as she made another reach for it. Finally the tips of her fingers made contact with it and she quickly inched it closer to her to she could grab it. She began to lean back as she pulled the oar in when a giant pair of jaws emerged from the water and took the paddle part of the oar in its mouth. Callie pulled roughly on the oar, not willing to give it up without a fight, when finally the paddle snapped off in its mouth. Callie quickly began moving backwards away from the front of the boat and the 'gator followed her lead. It lunged itself at her and landed on the front of the boat, only centimeters away from taking one of Callie's feet off. The new weight of the alligator was causing the boat to lean forward. Callie put her feet on opposite sides of the animal's jaws, trying to push it off. Obviously that was a losing battle and she knew it. She brought up the remains of the oar and swiped it at the thing. It made contact a few times and it let up a bit, inching off the boat. Callie shuffled back to the top of the boat with the others.

Alligators were now slowly gliding at the edges of the water, making snaps at their little toes. One almost nipped Lucy, she shrieked and brought up her legs to get her feet out of their reach.

"Callie!" Will called. He held out his hand, beckoning for her to hand him the oar. She passed it over and Will slapped at the 'gator trying to make a meal out of Lucy's toes. He hit it once or twice and it backed off, but then another quickly took its place. Will made attempts to hit this one too however this one was faster and snatched the oar right in its mouth. It pulled on it and Will pulled back, yet the animal was much stronger and with one big pull it flung Will off the boat and into the water. Without a single moment to register what happened, Will began swimming to the shore. The others were beckoning him to swim faster since one of the 'gators took off after him, however the only thing he could hear was the sound of water splashing against his face and his own heart beating.

There was not far for him to go and he quickly scrambled ashore before he lost any valuables. The alligator made a few snaps and snarls at him; however Will was not concerning himself with that one right now. He looked ahead and saw his friends desperately trying to stay away from the several pairs of hungry jaws, and he took off after the boat. The alligator popped out of the water and chased him a few feet but gave up rather quickly. Will managed to get ahead of them and then re-entered the water until he was knee deep or so. He began to slap the water and make as much noise as possible.

"Hey!" He called with his hands cupped over his mouth.

"Over here! Come on!" He slapped and swiped at the water, and succeeded in getting two or three of them to come over. Will quickly fumbled back to the shore to outrun their snapping mouths when he tripped over a log lying close to the edge. A 'gator launched itself onto the riverbank and his head rested just on top of Will's legs. Will cried out in horror as the animal opened its mouth, ready for the kill, when an arrow shot out from nowhere. It hit the alligator straight in between the eyes and killed it instantly. Will scrambled backwards to get away from the dead body when he abruptly hit a pair of legs. He looked up and saw an Indian staring blankly down on him. Not totally sure what to do, Will just stared back. Until the familiar screams of his friends came back to him. He shot his gaze back to them, and the Indian imitated.

The man let out an incoherent cry and suddenly at least a dozen more Indians popped out of nowhere and started running towards the water, shooting arrows at the animals as they went. Startled by the new predators, the alligators quickly swam away from the boat and out of sight. One man made it out far enough to catch the moving boat and with impressive strength drug it back to the shore with the four petrified children still on top of it. The man Will bumped into grabbed Will roughly by the shirt and hauled him to his feet. He yelled something at Will although he could not understand what was being said. Then he roughly pushed him towards the other children.

Another Indian man came walking towards the riverbank, this one had not been with the others previously. George looked at the man and let out a happy squeal. He bolted away from the others and ran into the man's arms. George began to talk excitedly in a dialect that was completely foreign to the other children, and the man spoke back with the same tone and language. Not quite sure what to do, the four of them stood still, staring at these strange people in wonder, all except for Callie.

"Ha!" Callie barked, and pointed directly at Ray. "I told you I'd know when we found them!"

* * *

**A/N: A little reference to AWE in there, with whole boat tipping thing. One of my favorite parts of the movie. I liked the movie but I gotta say that ending kinda bothered me. I haven't been that upset over a character death since Titanic!Anyway hope you liked this chapter, their journey is almost over, just a two more chapters. Not the story, just this one journey. Funny thing is is that i only meant this to be about five updates! Man was i off!**


	25. Greetings and new names

Ever since the Natives and the Europeans had been coexisting on the same piece of land horror stories had been passed on about encounters with the natives, with new additions coming all the time. Stories of their savagery; scalping, skinning, hitting people on the back of the head with their primitive tools. As the years passed on the stories became more and more gruesome and terrifying.

As they were fished out of the river the children were led single file over to their camp. Entering their camp was like entering another world entirely. They had no houses, just tents covered with animal hides. They all were sitting around campfires with different activities. Some were singing, others sewing beads on their clothes, the children were playing, yet they all seemed to be synchronized in their harmonious business. Men and women had long hair that they allowed to flow down their backs. Callie scoffed and nudged Will.

"Wow! These guys have it made. They get to be dirty, wear their hair down-"

"You wear your hair down." Will commented.

"Not for much longer. Soon my mother will make me wear my hair high on my head, just like Rose, Eve, and Annie." Callie said disgustedly. Callie looked on and scoffed in jealousy again.

"Come on! The kids get piggy-back rides? If I had a shilling for every time I tried to jump on Mother's or my sister's backs and got thrown off I'd be richer than the king of England! Ah, Look! They even get comfy sacks to sleep in during their ride!"

Will laughed lightly, despite the serious situation that they were in. Callie looked on.

"Oh! What the-! No fair, they get to _go_wherever they want? Why don't they just hang a sign that says 'We got it better than you'?" Callie paused. "Do you think my parents would care if I started going on the lawn instead-"

"Yes Callie! I really think they'd care!" Will answered quickly, shriveling his nose at her.

"I was only kidding Will!" Callie laughed.

They abruptly came to a stop and they were lined up side by side in front of a man with at least a dozen feathers standing straight up on his head.

"And they get fantastic hats?" Callie barked.

"Get over it Callie." Will muttered.

The man with all the feathers seemed like he was looking down at them through his nose. He pointed accusingly at them and began speaking quickly and angrily. Although it wasn't at them, or if it was the remarks just bounced off them like tiny stones. As the man spoke the children exchanged glances at one another with raised brows. 'Are we supposed to understand what he's saying?' They asked each other without words. The man pointed sharply at them and turned to talk to the other natives who had come to inspect the children. The man's tone rose a bit as he spoke, causing the confused glances amongst the children to turn into nervous ones. The large man's loud voice was abruptly stopped and replaced by George's much smaller one. The man looked down to see the tiny boy pulling sharply at his pant leg as he spoke. His stern angry look did not change however with George's words. As George was speaking he pointed repeatedly at Callie, although he alternated a bit amongst the four of them. With George's pointing continuously going towards Callie, she became more nervous about their situation.

"I told you to be nicer to him." Lucy muttered. Callie slowly slunk to the left and tried to hide herself behind Ray.

George stopped talking and the other man looked at Callie, technically he looked at Ray but he saw Callie attempting to hide behind him. The man took a step forward and motioned for her to come over.

"I think he means you." Callie stated to Ray.

"Callie!" Ray said as he moved away so he was no longer shielding her. Callie now completely out in the open, sighed a bit and walked up to the man. He stared down at her with completely aimless eyes, causing Callie to lose interest fast.

"So are you going to break my neck now or later cause the suspense is not good for my blood pressure" Callie stated. The man shot an arm out and it landed roughly on Callie's shoulder.

"But hey, I'm young. Who cares about blood pressure?" Callie said with a nervous laugh. Again the man stayed expressionless for a while until a slow smile crawled across his lips.

Suddenly he let out a boom of laughter, startling all of them quite a bit. He put his other arm on Callie's other shoulder and shook her a bit. Callie looked a bit like a rag doll, as her body furiously jarred under his strong hands.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Callie said defensively as she pulled herself away from his hands. She wiped away all the hair that had fallen into her face and looked up a bit angrily at him.

"I'm not a baby and you're not a British nanny so let's calm it down a little bit!"

The man laughed harder, he pointed to Callie and turned to the others.

"Ryuntas!" He bellowed to the people. He turned to Callie "Ryuntas." He stated more calmly to her. Callie stared at him in uttermost confusion.

"Huh?" she asked.

"Name." George stated. "Name." He pointed to her. "Ryuntas…fire head."

A burst of laughter came from behind. Callie turned to see Ray, Will, and Lucy in hysterics. She turned back to George.

"Fire head? That's the best you can come up with?"

"It's because you're hair's red." Ray said between laughs.

"You think?" Callie snarled sarcastically.

"And she's angry!" Lucy squealed. Callie looked at George again.

"That's not very nice, giving me a name like that. How would you like it if we started giving you names by the way you look-" Callie stopped herself for a second.

"Never mind." She said quickly. She looked back at her friends, Will was doubled over, holding his sides desperately, Lucy was halfway there and holding onto Will's shoulder for support, and Ray was on the ground already. Callie smiled deviously and turned back to the man with the feathers.

"You know, I didn't bring this little guy home all by myself. I think it's only fair to name those fine helpers behind me as well." Callie said with a fake humble tone. The laughter behind stopped immediately. She glanced over her shoulder quickly and saw them all looking at her in terror.

"Perhaps I can help you with the naming." Callie said helpfully as she strolled up beside him and turning around on her heels.

"That one, " Callie started with Lucy "is obsessed with disgustingly dreamy romances to the point of insanity." She initially was going to go with Lucy's chubby body but decided not to go that way.

"That one," Next Callie pointed to Ray, "Has problems separating himself from his Grandmother. And that one…" Lastly Callie pointed to Will.

"I have strong suspicions that he had a stick put up his butt as a baby and hasn't removed it since."

As Callie spoke George interpreted roughly what she was saying to the man, who was in fact his father and the chief, and he let out a few barks of laughter after each name. He put a finger to his lips as he though of names for the three, and he pointed to each one as he said it.

"Syanda" He said to Lucy.

"Loruck" He said to Ray.

"Paitum" He said to Will.

"Head lost in crazy clouds. Future women problems. Feels pain when sitting down." George translated for his father. Callie joined George's father in bursts of laughter. It took her a few moments before she could manage to utter more than a few syllables. Callie sighed happily as her laughs finally stopped.

"Fire head's not sounding too bad right now is it?" She asked triumphantly.

* * *

**AN: British nanny comment was inspired by a family guy episode, "shake me! shake me like a british nanny!" it just came to me while i was writing. Also for the record the native names in this are completely made up. Just in case anyone was questioning that. **


	26. In hot water

That night was spent in energetic celebration over the return of the chief's son, and the meeting of the adventurers who brought him home. It mostly consisted of a huge bonfire and a lot of singing and dancing. At one moment during the festivity the peace pipe was offered to Will and Callie however the fear of the unknown and a dirty look from Will; from Callie's side of the situation, led them to decline the offering.

The next morning the chief had chosen four of his strongest and most courageous braves to escort the children home. Their plan was to take the children upriver from whence they came. The braves were just in the middle of getting the boats in the water when the chief once again lined the children up side by side in front of the river. He stood in front of them and said something they could not understand, and patted his opposite arm to his heart three times.

George then appeared from behind his father and walked up to them. He approached Callie first and stood in front of her for a few moments before quickly throwing his arms around Callie's waist. Callie raised her elbows to keep the contact between them as minimal as possible and scrunched her face in distaste. Ray nudged her a bit, in means to encourage her and make her feel guilty for being rude at the same time. Callie rolled her eyes and quickly brought her arms down around George.

"Okay." Callie said tiredly and patted his head. "Okay."

George finally let go and moved along the line. He gave a hug to Ray, Lucy, and lastly Will.

"Take care of yourself." Will said as George released him from his embrace. George waked back towards his father and waved goodbye one last time at them as they made their way to the boats. Callie and Lucy seated themselves in one boat and Ray and Will were in the other. As soon as their bottoms hit the seats the boats took off in a huge lurch.

It was a bit degrading for Callie to remember how much they had to strain themselves to keep their boat on track the first time. While these men were moving the boats upriver as smoothly as if they weren't even on water at all. They made it up to the river rapids in no time, although to get past them they were forced to row to shore, pull the boats out of the water, and carry them overland until they were safely away from the rapid's pull.

The four braves led the way, walking in pairs, and all with a shoulder under a section of their boat. It took them at least an hour to walk past all the rapids, which ironically took them mere minutes to pass before. By the time they made it to the beginning of the rapids the braves had to stop for a moment in order for the children to catch up. Sooner or later they all came tromping by. They were red faced, panting, and had different levels of sweat flowing from them.

Ray and Will came by first, slightly stumbling as they did from their exhaustion. While Callie came a minute later with Lucy half draped over her shoulders.

"Lucy, are you that tired? We've practically melted together to form one person." Callie panted once they caught up to the others. Callie shrugged her shoulders roughly to get Lucy off her.

"Might as well start calling us Calcy or Lullie soon. " Callie said.

A piercing gunshot suddenly silenced their harsh panting. The braves threw the boats down in a flash and readied themselves for battle.

Callie's gaze whipped in the direction of the gunshot and saw her own father on horseback aiming a smoking pistol towards the braves.

"Callie! Children, come over here!" Inman stated, his eyes never leaving the braves.

"Father, they-"

"Callie! I mean it!" Inman yelled as the rest of his search party rode in behind him, pulling out their pistols as they did. Callie looked to her friends and shrugged her shoulders. They all started to walk towards Inman, as they moved the braves made a few threatening lunges and the search party cocked their pistols.

Callie whirled around to the braves, waving and shaking her head. She pointing continuously to her father and to herself and they quickly understood. They picked up the boats once again and headed towards the river. Callie looked at her father, who was giving her the hardest stared she had ever seen. He quickly dismounted from his horse and walked over to Callie in only three strides.

Before anyone knew it Inman knelt down in and was alternating between hugging his daughter and holding her a little roughly by the shoulders, shaking her a bit as he changed his hold on her.

"Was I born a rag doll and no one decided to tell me?" Callie asked the group.

"What were you...You could have…I can't believe…" Inman started multiple sentences without finishing them.

"Um, sir?" One of Inman's officers asked.

"We wanted to get home before dark, right?"

"Right. Okay." Inman said as he finally released Callie.

"You, your mother, and I are going to have a long talk when we get home." Inman said to Callie, which resulted in a long aggravated groan from her.

* * *

When they finally reached Willow's Bend, the welcomes they received were mostly less than heart warming.

"Oh no! Lock up the chickens Peggy, she's back!" Mr. Gritts yelled.

"No! Why? Why? Why?" Mrs. Yates dropped her basket full of food for her family and cried to the heavens.

"Oh good, sweet little Lucy Mackenzie is back." Mrs. Sharp; a close follower of the church, said to Dr. Butler.

"We should have built a wall around the town when we had the chance." Payne muttered.

They dropped Will, Lucy, and Ray off at home first. Will was greeted by a 'oh there he is.' Lucy was greeted by a tame hug from both her parents and a scowl over her head towards Callie. Lastly Ray was welcomes by a smothering of kisses from Grandma Mary and a smack outside the head and a 'what were you thinking?' from Grandpa Frank.

* * *

"Mother! They're back!" Annette cried as she peered through the front window. Anita walked from the study into the entrance way and looked out the same window at her youngest daughter. Hearing Annette's cry, Evelyn and Roseanne raced out of their rooms to lean on the upstairs banister.

"Lock the door!" Evelyn said.

"Pretend we're not home. No, pretend we've moved." Roseanne added. Anita glared at them.

"You two get down here right now and all of you will greet your sister with love or at least politeness, like a civilized family would try to do!"

Once Roseanne and Evelyn reached the bottom of the stairs Anita opened the front door to meet them. Anita scooped up her skirts and quickly strode over to Callie and Inman.

"Oh Callie! Thank goodness you're safe!" Anita breathed as she took her in her arms.

"Hi mother." Callie said in a strained voice. Anita pushed Callie away at arms length and kept the same grip on her shoulders as Inman had before.

"Don't you ever do that again!"

"Okay." Callie said simply, smiling and hoping she was off the hook.

"She's not getting off that easily. Come on young lady." Inman sternly stated as he took Callie's arm and began to lead her to the house.

"I don't see why she didn't just live with the savages since she insists on acting like one." Evelyn muttered to Annette.

"I would've if they'd take me." Callie said.

"Ha! Even the savages don't want her!" Roseanne squawked. Callie tried to lunge at them but Inman pulled back on her arm, preventing her from doing so.

"You three be quiet." Inman ordered to his other daughters.

"As for you, you're in enough hot water already." Inman said to Callie as he led her into the house.

* * *

**A/N: I'm hoping to update more frequently now that summer's here. I'm really excited for the next update since it involves a confrontation with Inman and Will. I've been planning for this next chapter since I came up with the story.**


	27. Truths and Confessions

"This is wrong, this is wrong, this is wrong…" Will repeated to himself over and over again as he walked over to the Caldwell's home. It was two thirty in the morning, a specific time chosen by Will since it was an hour after all the drunks stumbled home, and since it was the middle of the night everyone was in a deep sleep.

Ever since Callie mentioned her father owning a coin like Will's it had occupied his thoughts to the point of mild lunacy. It had been almost a week since they had returned home and it took Callie's parents almost that long to think of an appropriate punishment for her. Their initial idea was to keep her in complete solitary confinement for a few weeks, however Callie is the type of person that could easily entertain herself so they knew that idea was a dud. Then they though of making her accompany Roseanne with her outings with George, but she's had to do that when she's not in trouble. Then finally they found the right punishment for her.

Inman and Anita believed the source of Callie's misbehavior could be because of a lack of a scheduled routine in her life and her using the wrong way to exert her excess energy and creativeness. So it was settled that they would make a trip into Charleston to find Callie a private dance instructor. Will had not found that out directly from Callie, although he could defiantly imagine how she would have reacted.

"She's going to have class every morning, from nine in the morning 'til noon. " Ray wheezed to Will, barely able to control his laughter.

"Is she taking ballroom dancing?" Will asked. Ray shook his head slowly, his face was red, and his lips were puckered and quivering a bit.

"Ballet" Ray whispered and burst out laughing. "She's going to be a regular twinkle toes."

Will chuckled slightly at the memory of that conversation as he approached the road that led directly to the Caldwell home. Just this morning the entire family left for Charleston, leaving the house completely empty. Will ran around to the side of the house, the lock on the window just at the end of the entrance hall was broken. Callie dislodged it so it wouldn't lock, but no one knew any better when they flicked it back and forth.

The window opened without any effort at all. Will walked through the house quietly as a mouse. Even though no one was home, Will felt so guilty about breaking into Callie's house he didn't want to leave so much as an unpleasant echo in it. Although Will had been in the home quite frequently he had never been taken into the portion of it he was now entering. This part of the house only contained Inman's office and a few storage rooms. Will reached out for the door knob of one of the doors and took a deep breath before opening the door to reveal three or four shelves of blankets and some old coats hanging up. Will rolled his eyes and closed the door. Two doors later Will timidly entered the office.

The walls and shelves were drenched with plaques, medals, sashes, and other awards given to Inman. Right above the fire place was a frame with four little sterling silver rattles inhabiting it. Each one was polished perfectly, properly spaced out, and had a little plaque under it. From left to right they read "Roseanne","Evelyn", "Annette", and "Callie". _Perfect chronological order as well, _Will though to himself.

Will turned from the memory trinkets to Inman's desk. He rummaged though the contents on top and inside the drawers but did not find anything remotely close to what he came in there for. Next he went to the shelves; _perhaps he had it displayed with his other trinkets_, Will thought. After that his next stop to look was the wardrobe standing just across from the desk. In order for him to look up on the high shelf Will had to climb up onto the bottom of the wardrobe, although that seemed to really pay off. As soon as the shelf was below Will's eye level his eyes immediately went towards a thin line of a dull gold glint.

Will's heart skipped a beat and his breath caught in his throat. He quickly grabbed the coin and jumped down to the floor. For a long time he stood there, with the coin encased in his hand. Finally he slowly started to uncurl his fingers, his heart pounding like mad. It felt like it was about to pop out of his chest, yet just as quickly as it increased it's speed it stopped dead in its tracks; or so it seemed. His fingers uncovered the coin and after the enormous risk he took to locate it he soon realized that they were in fact…not alike. Besides the fact that they were both gold coins they weren't similar at all. The designs, color, even the size and weight was completely different.

Will squeezed the coin hard in his hand as he allowed it to drop to his side. Will started having severe problems breathing, his exhaling came out in loud pants through his nose and no matter what he could do he couldn't control it. His eyes started to well up with tears and he even started to shake a bit.

"It's not fair." He whispered to himself. Will whipped the coin at the wardrobe.

"It's not fair!" He cried.

He whirled around to Inman's desk started hurling whatever he could get his hands on at all ends of the room. He used all the force his body could possibly contain in sending contents of the desk into various targets in the room.

_I tried so hard not to sully you in exchange for information and you can't even do that for me?_ Will yelled in his subconscious at the room and its contents. The desk was practically bare when Will picked up a small iron paper weight. He drew back his arm, preparing to throw it when he abruptly stopped himself. Through his fit of rage he managed to stop himself long enough to realize that he was aiming at the framed trinkets from Callie and her sisters' infancy. He took a few deep breaths and a huge wave of remorse seemed to wash over him. What was he trying to do? Make his lack of knowledge with his father less upsetting by destroying Inman's memories of his children? Will looked around the room, which was in ruins. Some of the shelves had been knocked down or broken, causing more of an avalanche of things falling to the floor. Will sighed and put the weight back on the desk.

"Will?"

Will's blood went cold; he turned around to see Inman standing in the doorway with a candle in one hand and a pistol in the other. The look on his face was something Will would never forget. Inman's face was shocked, angry, confused, disbelieving, fearful, and sleepy all at the same time.

"I'm sorry, I thought no one was home." Will said stupidly, not sure what else to say. Inman's expression did not change.

A few moments passed and Will managed to quickly pick up the coin he threw and held it up to Inman. He looked at him quizzically, obviously not understanding the significance. Will realized that and then fished out the coin he kept on a chain under his shirt. Inman's eyes widened a bit when he saw the second coin yet he did not react much beyond that.

"They're different." Will said weakly. Inman's brow furrowed as Will spoke.

"Callie said they were the same, but they're different." Will ended the sentence with a loud sob.

"I thought if they were the same than that would mean you might know where my father was, who he is…" Will began, his voice regaining its strength. "But they're different, so you can't know… you wouldn't know…nobody ever knows!" Will was getting noticeably angrier with every word. "Not my uncles, or the sailors at any port, or my mother's priest, the only person who knew was my mother, but even she can't help me because she's gone too!"

"Will," Inman said calmly as he started to move towards the boy. Will stopped mid-sentence and waited for Inman to continue. Inman sighed roughly and knelt down in front of Will.

"The day I met you, when Callie introduced you by your full name I realized that you were in fact the son I heard so much about from my old friend William Turner. " Inman look at Will with a very serious face, and Will met it with a new extreme level of interest.

"When I was eighteen I sailed the open seas and I met him through a few other friends I had made. He was a good man, I was very good friends with him for many years. I remember him frequently bringing up his wife Sarah, your mother, and later on his son; William Turner the second. It was truly indescribable how much he loved you both. He was so proud of you two, 'I don't know how I did it but I managed to achieve a higher level of greatness for myself than what could have been expected. Now all I need is to do is pass it on to my son.' That's why he left you, to make money, to make things better for you." He was very careful about not saying anything to reveal his friend's profession.

"Do you know where he is now?" Will asked hopefully. Inman stayed silent. He honestly did not know of old Bill's whereabouts. He knew of someone who did, but he was most defiantly not re-introducing the boy to Jack Sparrow. If Will ever sees that man again in his lifetime it would be too soon. Will read the expression off of Inman's face and shook his head sadly.

"We never heard from him, not once!" Will stated. "This coin," Will held the coin up again, "was the only thing he ever sent home. No money, or letters, nothing! It's one thing to want to be better, it's another to do something to be better. Him leaving did not better me! If he would have just stayed at home, he could have worked and then come home every day. Then mother would have gotten better help when she got sick and I wouldn't be alone, wondering what's going to happen to me!" Will reached up and held the back of his neck as he paused, trying to hold back the returning tears.

"When I'm a father, I'm going to be so much better than that. I'm going to actually _be_ there for them. They're going to _know _who their father was and _know_ what he wants for them. Or at least know that he wants_ them_! That they're never going to have to question." Will said, emphasizing words as a silent way of admitting his feelings. Will opened his mouth to talk again but he stopped himself. Inman stared sadly at the boy.

"He did love you." Inman said. Once again Will took a few deep breaths to calm himself down before speaking again.

"If he didn't bother to tell me that then it probably wasn't true." That's all Will had to say before Inman pulled Will into a hug. He put one of his thick arms around Will's shoulders and patted him on high on the back a few times, as if beckoning him to finally release his tears. It was awkward at first for the two males, but after a while Will finally allowed himself to let go and he sobbed into Inman's shoulder, as Inman stayed still and allowed Will to do so.


	28. The preparations

The next day Will returned to the Caldwell home to give a hand to Inman with cleaning up his office. The office he single-handedly destroyed. He would've helped him anyways, however it was part of an agreement between Inman and him. Will would help clean up the mess and in exchange Inman would never tell a soul about it, not even Callie. Seeing Will take responsibility for his actions so immediately without any complaint, Inman silently made a decision. He would try to find out the whereabouts of the late Will Turner, and hopefully he would have something to report to Will by June 12th, his next birthday.

* * *

The big day was coming up fast and the plan was to make it a double party for Callie and Will. Callie's other set of grandparents, Anita's parents Louis and Vianne Aubrey, were coming over from France, along with Anita's siblings Jeanne and Pierre along with their families. Even Inman's grandmother, Ida Reid Caldwell; Grandpa Frank's mother, was coming into town as well, much to Grandma Mary's protests. Amus, Mitch, and the other hired help were also invited to enjoy the party, along with Roseanne's George. Uncle Tim and Gavin were invited as well, however they were not ones to stay in the presence of Callie for more than a few moments, and thus their attendance was not expected.

It was eleven thirty in the morning, an hour and a half before the party was to begin when Will knocked on the Caldwell's front door. Many times now Callie told him that he didn't have to knock every time before coming in, yet Will insisted on waiting to be invited in as always. He rapped on the door a few times; each resulting with no answer, which forced Will to timidly open the heavy door and walk in. People were running around like maniacs. He looked up and saw Roseanne and Evelyn standing face to face in their robes. Roseanne had two shawls in her hands; one green, one yellow.

"I can't decide!" She said frantically. "The green one complements my shoes but the yellow makes my hair look blonder. Which one brings out my eyes?" She asked as she held both up to her face. Will looked on before hearing Evelyn's answer.

"Mother!" Annette cried as she passed Will to Anita. "Mother, Roseanne stole my yellow shawl! Now I don't have anything to go with my gown! It's not fair for her to take my things just to look good for George. He doesn't even care about what she's wearing. He never notices! I need to look good, and Roseanne is ruining that!" She whined.

"Roseanne's wearing her green shawl isn't she?" Anita asked quickly before turning to Grandma Mary.

"Mary I already arranged those flowers." Anita commented to Mary's fixing of the cut flowers in the multiple vases.

"Well I know you're busy making yourself look beautiful so I figured I'd give them a once over. " Mary said lightly. Anita clenched her jaw and turned to Annette who was still talking.

"…she went into my room and took it when I wasn't there! It's inexcusable." Anita sighed.

"Annie, everyone coming is related to you, too old for you, or is George or Will, you don't need to be absolutely stunning." Anita said, naturally defending her oldest daughter.

"But if I'm not, Grace will never be quiet about herself!" Annette protested and pouted dramatically towards her mother. Anita pondered for a moment.

"Then put on your blue gown with the ivory stitching and take my silk shawl." Annette squealed with delight and ran back upstairs. Just then Anita finally took notice to Will's presence.

"Oh, Will. What are you doing here so early?" She asked, a bit flustered from all the previous conversations.

"Callie asked me to come early." Will answered. Anita nodded and pointed upstairs.

"She's in her room, up the stairs and last door on the left. Will nodded and walked to the staircase.

"Thank-you," He said. Anita looked up at him quizzically for a moment, waiting for Will to explain himself. "For today." He said. Anita smiled as Will made his way to Callie's room.

"Such a nice-" Anita started before a shrill "Mother!" interrupted her. Anita groaned loudly and walked towards the stairs herself. "Yes Annie, I'm coming!"

* * *

"Miss Callie?" The maid Bethany paced about Callie's room, looking for the currently missing child.

"Miss Callie? Please come on now. You have to get changed for the party." She said as she searched through her wardrobe.

"I am changed for the party." A voice came from above. Beth looked up to see Callie's head poking out from on top of the wardrobe.  
"You know that your Mother wants you dressed properly for the party." Callie rolled her eyes as she dropped from her hiding place.

"Now come on, we go through this every holiday, birthday, and party. What makes you have to always put up a fight?" Bethany asked.

"The fool's hope of defeating the gown once and for all?" Callie said with a hopeful twinkle in her eye.

"Oh don't you worry, you're mother has picked out a lovely gown for this occasion-" Callie interrupted the woman with a very loud groan. She dropped to her knees and crawled under her bed.

"Callie please cooperate! Your mother will have my head if I don't get you ready on time. You're Grandmother is coming in from France! You know strung up she is on appearance and how important it is for your mother to have you look appropriate for Vianne."

"Oh great, so can I expect to inherit this absurd overbearing nature soon enough or later on?" Callie's muffled voice came from beneath the bed.

Will knocked on the door and entered when he heard a muffled "come in." As he opened the door he caught the unpleasant sight of Bethany's oversized backend raised high in the air. Callie crawled out from under the bed at the opposite side from Bethany and quietly walked over to Will.

"Let's go." She mouthed as she tip toed towards the door. She led Will out of her room, and out of the house to the yard, expertly avoiding anybody that would ask her why she wasn't changed yet.

"Help me with this." She said as they walked to the bushes in the yard. Behind them sat a huge crate of fireworks and extra fuses.

"I need help setting this up. Now we jus have to get up on the roof somehow…" Callie said excitedly.

"Callie! Get your little rear-end in this dress right now or the only thing you'll be receiving from me for your birthday is a sore red hide. Bethany barked from the porch, holding a crème colored gown. Callie threw up her arms and opened her mouth to protest when Bethany abruptly stopped her.

"Don't you move, don't move an inch. Now listen…" Callie remained still, mouth still open and arms spread out wide.

"You have been nothing but troublesome since they I day I started working here, and unless you want to be stuck with a bulky ex-milkmaid names Helga wrestling you into a gown next time than you had better do your best at keeping me around. Now get this gown on now!" Bethany snapped. Callie closed her mouth finally and groaned loudly for all to know her inconvenience.

"Wait 'til Ray gets here, and he'll help you set up what we're doing." Callie muttered over her should before shuffling back into the house to get ready for the party.

Will did not wait for Ray to show up, he had a plan of his own. Not only did he not want anybody to be maimed, but not also during a party that was partly in his honor. After a few armloads, Will managed to successfully hide every single firework rocket where Callie would never think to look. Ray came into the yard just moments after Will hid the last rocket, sporting more refined attire than normal. He looked around a bit, before looking to Will.

"Where are the fireworks?" He asked.

"Your grandmother caught me with them and took them away." Will lied. Ray sighed angrily.

"I told her not to do this, now we've got to explain why and how we got all that meat into them. Will sniffed a bit,

"I thought I smelled something funny."

* * *

Callie looked like she had a hunch the size of a melon she had her head slumped down so low.

"There now, don't you look lovely?" Beth stated as she put the finishing touches on Callie. She stared at herself in the mirror with heavy lidded eyes and her eyebrows lying heavily on top of them. She kept the same look on her face, blinking a few times at her reflection. Inman knocked at the door and entered the room with his hand over his eyes.

"Are we decent?" Inman asked.

"Depends what you mean by decent." Callie muttered.

"Yes, she's ready." Bethany cut in quickly. Inman took his hand away and grinned warmly at his now seven year old daughter.

"Why Callie you look so refined!" He exclaimed.

"Don't rub it in!" Callie whined. Inman held out his hand to her.

"Shall we?" Inman asked.

"Give me one second." Callie said, Inman nodded and led Bethany out of the room. Once the door closed she went to her bed and pulled out a small piece of flint she had hidden under her pillow. She wrapped it in a kerchief and tucked it in her sleeve before going to her dressing table. She took the lid of a tiny silver canister to reveal it to be filled almost to the brim with dirt. She took a small handful and rubbed it quickly and lightly over her face, neck, and hair.

"It's party time!" She said excitedly to her reflection.

* * *

**AN: This was supposed to only be one chapter but i kept adding so much stuff and didn't want to cut any of it out. I'm working on the second part right now, so it shouldn't be long before I update again**


	29. The party

"My Grandmother took the fireworks and you let her?" Callie roared as she waved her arms around angrily.

"It was your Grandmother, Callie! What could I do?" Will defended himself. Callie rolled her eyes and put her hands on her hips.

"Well I know what you can do now, you can explain to the hungry mi…" Callie stopped herself "…hungry my plans…that have been spoiled by you, excuse me. " She said quickly and walked away with the same speed.

"Hungry my plans?" Will asked the now empty space where Callie had stood before.

Callie walked quickly to the very long table placed in the middle of the yard. She passed many distant family members, either nodding hello or quickly looking away and pretending not to see them. Then all of sudden a pair of meaty paws reached out and grabbed Callie's cheeks.

"Now where have you been hiding lil' darling?" Callie's distant Uncle Rob asked as he gripped small portions of Callie's cheeks between his fingers.

"Hiding from the French?" Callie said, trying to pull his hands away from her cheeks. He roared with laughter and let go.

"Love ya darling."

"Thanks Uncle Rob." Callie said as she walked on, gingerly rubbing her cheeks until she was pulled off track again by her Grandmother Vianne.

"Oh Callie! Un, deux, trois, quatre, cinq, six, sept plus beau!" She gushed.

"Merci Grand-mere, excuse moi s'il vous plait." Callie said as she walked on, not wanting anyone to catch her speaking French.

"Callie!" She lurched to a stop once again as she heard Roseanne's voice. She was standing at the end of the table, and from the looks of it her previous actions were standing alone all wilting flower like with her fan giving a slight flirtatious sense to it, just for George to see no doubt about it.

"What exactly are you doing walking out of your own party?" She asked, her eyes were piercing with accusations soaring out of them.

"Nothing" Callie answered, and pretended to see something behind Roseanne. "Say, isn't that George talking to Marie?  
Callie pointed behind her.

"What?" Roseanne yelled as she turned to find George. Callie looked on and saw Grandma Mary in the kitchen window, probably fixing the frosting on the cake that her mother had done earlier.

"Hi Gram!" Callie chirped as she entered the room, almost a little too cheery to be believable. Mary yelped and flung a wad of frosting on the wall.

"Oh Callie, you startled me dear." She breathed, placing a hand over her heart. "Why are you in here? Go out and enjoy your party!" Mary gently pushed Callie to the door.

"I just came in to ask you if you want this party to be a big bang." Callie said, emphasizing the word bang. "Don't you want this party to be a big bang?" Mary stared blankly at the girl.

"Callie dear, have you been eating your mother's face cream again?" Callie shook her head.

"No, I'm fine." She turned to walk out of the kitchen when she approached the splattered icing on the wall.

"Are you going to eat that?" Callie asked, not waiting for her to answer before swiping her hand across the wall to scoop the icing up.

"Callie no!" Mary protested. "Don't you dare get your sticky fingers on the furniture!" Callie looked over her shoulder at her and chuckled slightly between slurps of icing.

* * *

Will wandered timidly amongst the guests as they gave him curious looks, as they were not sure who he was.

"Raymond!" Will heard a shrill elderly voice behind him. Before he knew it, two arms were wrapped around his head and neck, pulling him against a bony chest.

"Oh how hansom you're becoming!" The woman praised as she stroked Will's hair.

"Ida, that's not Raymond." Anita quickly came to his rescue. Ida frowned and put Will at arms length to get a full look at him.

"This is Will. He's a friend of Callie and Raymond. Raymond is just over there." Anita pointed into the crowd. Ida analyzed Will for a long time. Long enough to make Will shift uncomfortably. Ida was a very intimidating woman. She had a sour look; tight lips, squinty eyes, saggy cheeks, and arched brows. She wore a lot of makeup, with high hair, and a gown that was easily sixty years old. She wasn't very big; in fact she was down right tiny. She just barely stood a foot or two above Will. Yet even so she looked as if she could clean anyone's clock with one swing.

"Hmm, poor Raymond's falling behind. This one is far more hansom." Ida stated between glances at Ray and Will.

"Anita!" Vianne appeared behind her daughter. She reached out and turned towards Anita so she could talk quietly without Ida or Will overhearing, however they failed miserably.

"Do you know that my youngest granddaughter is spending more than two minutes socializing with one person?" Vianne asked with a distressed tone. "When she grows up she's going to be too talkative. No man will want a chatterbox for a wife."

"What are you talking about? My Robbie barely got a word in with me and he stayed until his death." Ida broke in, "My Robbie, now there was a man. He was as strong as ten full grown men and he always kept the boys in line…" Ida prattled on.

"Mother, it's simply family here." Anita said quietly to her mother, both had now cut themselves off from Ida's words, leaving Will to nod politely at the end of every one of her sentences. Anita's normally confident voice was surprisingly withered by her mother. She now had the tone of an unmarried young lady still living in her parent's home.

"Which is good practice for later." Vianne hinted to Anita.

"What am I supposed to say, 'You are not permitted to talk to anyone'?"

"For no more than a couple of minutes, and with conversation consisting of only appropriate standard topics." Vianne finished, before abruptly snapping her gaze to Will. As much as Ida's gaze had bothered Will, Vianne's made Will feel lower than dirt. While Ida was intimidating, Vianne's was condescending, judgmental, and everything else Will feared about the upper class. She didn't introduce herself, neither did Will.

"Oh, please forgive me!" Anita broke the silence. "This is Will Turner. He's a close friend of Callie's." Will smiled politely as he tried to focus his attention on them and Ida, who was still going on about Robbie.

"Is he now?" Vianne asked, turning her gaze to her daughter alarmingly fast.

"Yes, and Will, this is my mother Vianne Aubrey." Anita finished her introduction. Thankfully Ida was now finished her stories and Will could now turn away and bow slightly to Vianne. She raised a brow at him, looking like she would if he was a dog trying to wear shoes.

"He moved into town last year and Callie and he just strung up a friendship immediately." Anita explained to Vianne.

"Where did you live before?" Vianne asked Will, finally acknowledging Will verbally.

"I lived in England until my mother passed. Then I moved here." Will answered.

"Where is your father?" Vianne pressed, although she looked like she already knew the answer. This was why Will chose to look at the ground quietly.

"Hmm" Vianne hummed deep in her throat and turned to Anita. She raised her brows and rolled her eyes slightly as her way of saying_ 'of course' _without any words.

"Today is Will's birthday too. We decided to have a double party." Anita pressed on, trying desperately to ignore her mother's condescending ways.

"Oh isn't that nice?" Vianne said, the patronizing tone still evident to everyone. As if to make the situation even more uncomfortable, Callie chose that very moment to come strolling up behind Will.

"Hey buddy." She said, wrapping an arm around Will's neck. To the others it looked chummy, but in fact she was practically choking him.

"Can I talk to you for a second?" She asked through a gritted smile.

"Do I have a choice?" Will asked, realizing that Callie had figured out his trick.

"No" Callie stated as her arm around Will's neck tightened and pulled him around in the other direction.

"Excuse us." Callie said over her shoulder to the three women standing behind them.

* * *

Once they were a safe distance away Callie whirled Will away from her angrily.

"What do you think you're doing? Why are you trying to ruin this?" Callie snapped.

"Because I don't want you to ruin this." Will stated. "That 's your family!"

"I'm not setting it off on them; I'm setting it off on the town." Callie argued.

"No, it's still not right." Will defended his position.

"Tell me where they are!" Callie demanded suddenly.

"Oh there they are. Callie! Will!" They looked over to see Lucy and Callie's cousin Marguerite coming towards them. Callie's facial features shriveled at the sight of her cousin.

"Where have you been?" Marguerite asked, laughing a little.

"Hiding from you." Callie stated plainly.

"Will, this is Marguerite, Callie's cousin from Paris." Lucy introduced, trying to overlap Callie's comment from the air.

"Nice to meet you." Will said pleasantly, bowing slightly.

"Pleased to meet you." Marguerite answered with a new sudden interest.

"I need to talk to Will alone please." Callie said, sounding irritated.

"You know those are some lovely gowns you ladies are wearing." Will intercepted quickly.

"Thank-you!" The girls giggled at the same time.

"Where-ever did you get them?" Will asked as he approached them and offered an arm to each of them. They took them very willingly and Marguerite started telling her story first.

"Will" Callie called with the same irritated voice.

"You're cousin's talking, don't interrupt." Will said over her shoulder. "Please continue." He said to Marguerite. She let out a giddy laugh and continued.

* * *

"Honestly Anita. You and your husband are far too charitable for your own good. You were taught better than to take strays off the street. While you're continuously bringing him into your home he's probably robbing you blind." Vianne said, she was sitting at the kitchen table daintily sweeping crumbs off it.

"Mother, please just let it go." Anita begged as she helped Bethany unload place settings from the cupboards to take outside.

"I think you're letting it go more enough for the both of us. I don't trust him, there's something odd with him. The way he just stood there staring at us without a word." Vianne had moved herself from the table to the mirror

"He's just very soft spoken. Plus he had just met you; he's very shy around new people. I've come to learn that over the months."

Vianne scoffed and turned from her reflection, "That my dear daughter, is an easy act to do."

"Then why doesn't Callie do it?" Anita muttered to herself as she looked out the window. She could see Callie run by Evelyn, flipping up her gown as she went. She knocked at the window and gave Callie a disapproving look. Callie simply shrugged her shoulders and laughed as Evelyn stormed past her.

"Callie is another issue in this matter. Honestly, why would you encourage such a friendship?" Vianne asked as she joined Anita at the window. "Raymond is one thing but this one is quite another. In fact, I'm not even sure a real friendship with Raymond is proper for a young girl." Anita finally turned from the window to look at her mother, her brows furrowed quizzically.

"It's not right to allow your daughter to have friendships with males. It teaches her bad values as she gets older, not to mention her reputation will suffer."

"Callie's still very young. She doesn't know the real difference between males and females; she doesn't understand that just yet. But when the time comes when she does understand she will learn the boundaries and rules she must follow." Anita stated bravely.

"Anita, you can't allow a dog to do its business in the house for years then just expect it to know to do it outside after a certain point. It has to be taught when it's young." Vianne brought the back of her hand into her other palm several times as she spoke.

"My daughter is not a dog."

"When she's older she may as well be-"

"Mother!" Anita snapped, "Don't talk about my daughter, your granddaughter, in that matter."

Vianne's face softened as she looked pityingly at her daughter.

"Anita, listen to your mother. That boy is an insect, an insect of the worst kind. The dangerous kind." Vianne looked out the window once again and shook her head at what she saw. "He must be squashed quickly." With that Vianne quickly left Anita to ponder her words. Anita looked to what bothered her mother so much. She frowned as she saw Will with Lucy and her niece Marguerite on each arm. He looked like miniature version of some of the men strolling around in Paris. Anita stared for a moment and walked out of the kitchen and into the yard.

"Alright everyone," Anita called with a fake happy tone. "Supper is now to be served."

People slowly started to saunter to the table and take their places. Wows and awes were spoken at the setting of the table and at their meals that were now being delivered. Callie and Will were seated side by side, and much to Will's dismay, neither Ray, Lucy, or Marguerite was seated by them. Callie was glaring at Will but obviously looks can't kill since Will remained in one piece. He pretended not to notice her deathly stare. Since he could not talk to Marguerite or Lucy he deeply examined the place settings.

'_Bloody little twerp! Where could he have hid them?'_ Callie thought to herself as she casually looked around for a possible hiding place for the rockets. She gave another angry glance at Will and rolled her eyes. It was at that very moment she found exactly what she was looking for. The roof of the house stood proudly above her.

'_Of course! He knew the last place I'd look would be the place where I wanted them in the first place. Plus he knew it would be difficult for me to sneak up there. Well that's where he's wrong!'_

"Hold your thoughts for a second, I'll be back." Callie said to whoever was listening as she rose from her seat. Before she turned to walk away she smiled like a cat that just swallowed a canary. Will felt a flush in his cheeks as he read the expression on her face. Callie has either thought of or found out something about the fireworks.

'_She couldn't have figured it out, could she?'_ Will asked himself.

"Does anyone smell something peculiar?" A voice from the other side of the table said.

The sound of a chiming glass soon silenced all the multiple conversations. At the end of the table stood Vianne Aubrey, she had the same cat-like smile as Callie although with a different motive in mind.

"I propose a toast."

* * *

Callie whipped open the windows in her parent's room and expertly hopped out of the window onto the porch roof. She walked to the side of the house where the brick chimney stood and used it as a ladder to climb to the roof. Once she had thoroughly checked the one side of the roof she slowly crawled up the first slant of the roof and peered over the edge of the second half. She could see the guests sitting at the table. Grandmother Vianne was giving a speech, and even from up there she could make out her words.

"A toast to a very special day, for not one person but two people, and to the very generous Caldwell family. They certainly have the impressive ability to redefine the word charity."

Inman's mouth dropped and Anita covered hers with a dainty hand. They turned to each other and took a nervous glance at Will. He was frozen and emotionless, sitting solemnly in his seat. There was a light wave of chuckles circulating around Will. For the longest while Will wondered if what just happened was real. He had definitely had dreams or nightmares rather, of being publicly scorned. However it seems that he had been spoiled by kind souls and lured into a false sense of acceptance and of higher position than what was truly so. After what seemed like an eternity Will looked up from his plate to see the chuckling members of Callie's family. Will gave a quick smile out of politeness before getting up from his seat.

"Please excuse me, I'm not feeling well." Will said quietly, to no one in particular. A few at the table made sudden movement as if ready to start after him, although the lack of knowledge of what to say and the quantity of eyes on them kept them in their seats.

Callie gaped down upon them with cold blood and a blank mind. She was so shocked by her grandmother's words she had lost all control over her body. She saw Will slowly saunter away from the table and she suddenly gained control of her voice. She opened her mouth to call out to him, yet she still lacked the control of her body.

"Wi-ahhh!" Callie cried as her hand slipped from her grip of the roof and she roughly tumbled down the side of the roof. She skidded to a stop just on the edge of the roof. She lifted her hand to her face. It was covered in slivers and scratches.

"Ow wow ow ow…" Callie groaned. She looked to her side and could see Will walking down the road, back home no doubt. Callie exhaled sadly and started to make her way off the roof. She returned to the table with an upset look on her face. A half hour or so passed and her look had not changed, nor did the placing of food on her plate. After everyone was finished their supper the plates were cleared away and people wandered from the table.

Callie watched the guests from her seat as she absent-mindedly ran her fingers along the sewn hem of the table cloth. She slipped her hand under the table cloth to touch the wood of the table and felt her fingers brush under something round and smooth. Her eyes widened a bit yet she did not react. She curved her whole hand under the table and felt two or three rockets sitting on the inside of the little ledges built in around the table.

"Ray, Lucy!" Callie called, motioning them over. Once they had fully approached her she pulled them in close. "I need your help with something…"

"Ray! I'm going to kill you!" Lucy cried as she chased Ray around the yard.

A very eventful and almost dangerous chase they were making it, pushing roughly against people and knocking over chairs. People were so busy gasping and making unsuccessful grabs at the children that they did not notice Callie at the table twisting the fuses of the rockets together and rearranging the table cloth or place settings to hide their placement on the table near the far end.

"Alright! Here we go!" Anita said as she and Grandmother Mary came from the kitchen carrying a huge birthday cake. As if that was their cue, Ray and Lucy stopped fighting and quickly ran out of sight.

There were in fact fourteen candles on the cake, seven for her and seven for Will. That was going to make the events yet to happen even more satisfying. The guests gathered around her and the cake as they began to sing happy birthday and after they finished they began beckoning her to blow out the candles. She did as they asked, but she only blew out seven candles.

"I am only seven years old today, and blow out any more than that would be a lie. So I guess these…" She picked up the seven candles in between her fingers, "Will just have to be thrown away."

With that she flung them onto the table top, causing people to cry and jump away. Callie quickly ducked and crawled away from the scene through frantic legs and gowns. Their cries immediately ceased when a faint hissing sound reached their ears. They all looked down in horror to find multiple burning fuses quickly making their way down the table. People were frantically trying to put out the little fire the candles had started and stop the fuses yet they were too swift and had made their way under the table.

The guests shielded themselves as consecutive explosions erupted from under the table, blowing place settings and small slivers at them along with an additional substance.

"It's meat!" Somebody cried to the crowd.

They all gasped and groaned in disgust before their voices were once again overcome by another faint noise. This noise was not a hissing sound though, more like a squeaking and patting noise, coming straight towards them. Their gazes moved to the bushes around the yard and before they knew it dozens of white mice came pulsing out of the bushes, following their noses to the smell of raw meat.

A panic erupted from the mob as they tried to run, stomp, or stand on something to keep the mice away. Women were squealing and climbing on their fathers and husbands while the men jerked violently to fling away the creatures that were now crawling up them.

"Ew, oh dear!" Anita groaned as she kicked and flapped her skirts to get the mice away.

Inman had them crawling up his black boots yet he was more interested in getting them away from his wife's legs than his.

"Here," Inman said as he scooped his wife up and carried her to the safety of the porch. "Stay there," he said as he went back into the mob to get their children.

There were no more mice on her yet Anita still twitched and swatted at herself. She looked out at her yard, which was now in ruins, and saw Callie standing off to the side. Her arms were crossed, she stood firm and she had a very satisfied look on her face. Their eyes caught each other and they stared for a moment. Callie smiled and shrugged, just like she had before with Evelyn's gown. Then she turned to exit the yard. Anita knew exactly where she was going.

Uncle Tim and Gavin were sitting in their usual places on the porch when Will entered the yard. They said nothing to him, and he said nothing back. He went up to his room and sat quietly on his bed, thinking about what had just happened.

"I'm a fool." He said out loud to himself.

"You got that right." Will turned to see Callie climbing through his window.

"You almost destroyed what turned out to be the best stunt I've ever done!" Callie said excitedly. "Hiding them under the table, it was so simple. I can't believe I didn't figure it out sooner."

Will sighed, "So what did Payne say once he saw the town covered in meat?"

"I didn't set it off on the town, I set it off on the guests!" Will's eyes nearly popped out of his head.

"You set off meat rockets on your family?"

"And dozens of hungry white mice." Callie added.

"Why?" Will asked. Callie stayed silent. Will realized the answer and smiled at her.

"Come back over." Callie stated. Will shook his head.

"No, I really don't want to be around those people."

"They're not even going to notice you're there. They have mice crawling over them, you're old news." Callie protested. Callie gave an inviting smile as she presented the window to Will.

"Come on, you know you want to." Will finally gave in and followed her to the window.

"Just so you know," Callie said as they walked down the road, "The party is not charity. You have to give payment, which is due by the way."

Will chuckled, "What do I have to do?"

"You have to throw a mouse at one of my sisters."

"Callie, I'm not throwing a mouse at your sisters!"

"They're already upset; their mood won't change with one more mouse on them!"

"Then why don't you throw one at them?" Will pressed.

"Are you kidding me? I unleashed them in the first place, they'd have my head!" Callie laughed.

"I'm not throwing a mouse." Will stated.

"Fine, but I'm just going to have to come up with a crazier form of payment." Callie said as they walked up the road towards the house. Will was quiet for a moment.

"How big of a mouse does it have to be?" Will asked.

* * *

**A/N: This really wasn't supposed to be this long but I just kept thinking of stuff to put in. There's going to be one more update before I make a jump in time, nothing too drastic but they'll definatly be older with newer adventures and situations.**


	30. Quality time with guns

Light was filling Will's room. He could tell by the red tint of his closed eye lids. He slowly opened his eyes to let them adjust to the unpleasant surge of light occupying his room. He stretched a bit and looked to the window. He watched it for a moment, wondering if Callie was going to make an appearance. She hadn't been around since their birthday. Her parents weren't pleased with what Callie did at the party but they felt just as bad about what happened to Will as she did, so they decided to let it slide. It also helped their decision with the fact that Callie assured them that the mice were sold for pets and scientific testing and were in no way disease ridden.

Will got up from his bed, dressed and quietly made his way downstairs to the kitchen. Uncle Tim and Gavin were sitting at the table already, munching away on their food. They heard Will enter the room yet they only spared him a single glance each and Gavin pointed to the stove, where a skillet sat with his breakfast inside. He served himself and took his usual seat at the table. He ate in silence as usual, keeping his chewing in his own specific rhythm.

"We're going to have fish for supper. Tim and I are going to the river to catch 'em today." Gavin said after a while.

"Do you mind if I come too?" Will asked quietly.

Both Tim and Gavin immediately stopped eating and looked at Will. He had been staying with them for almost a year now and not once had he asked to accompany them anywhere.

"I need to get out of the house. " Will explained to them.

* * *

"Alright now, you hold that net real steady and get ready to catch." Tim said. They had moved to the pond just a mile off from their house and were standing knee deep in the water. Tim loaded the gun and aimed towards the water.

"One, two, three!" Tim shot into the water which caused a fish to come flying out of the water. Will made a clumsy lunge with the net and was lucky to have the fish plop into the net. It bounced and flopped in the net as it fought for its life. Will bunched the ends of the net together to trap it for good.

"Good, now throw it in the bucket." Tim said. Will waited a bit for it to stop moving then opened the net. They had placed a bucket in the grass at the side of the pond, Will gently threw it underhand to the bucket. He missed it slightly and it plopped onto the grass. Will grimaced a bit and looked at Tim.

"That's alright, it can be cleaned." Tim said.

Just then a cat strode up and snatched the fish faster than a blink of an eye.

"That might be a problem though. Stupid animal!" Gavin barked at the cat as he aimed his rifle.

"Just forget it. Get ready kid, we're going again." Tim aimed at the water again.

* * *

After a half hour the bucket had five fish. It would have had seven but the cat returned a second time while they were fishing. Their initial plan was to just head home after they caught their dinner, however they came across some old plates and bottles and got a new idea.

"Hold it steady boy. Aim and shoot." Gavin said behind Will. They had placed bottles on the fence and were teaching him how to aim, later on if he got really good they would let him shoot plates in the air.

Will wasn't much of a marksman at first, of course, yet after twelve or so reloads he was able to make some sort of contact with all of his targets.

"Excellent. Let's try with plates now." Tim said.

"Hold it, we got something better." Gavin said, pointing to the road. For the first time in a week and a half Callie had decided to make an appearance.

"Watch this." Tim smiled and aimed his gun. He shot the rifle and the bullet skidded across the dirt in front of Callie's feet, causing her to jump back a bit.

"Whoa, steady on!" Callie said. Her eyes caught glimpse of Will.

"Will? You're letting them-" She was cut off by another shot, this one taken by Gavin. Callie lurched to a stop and tried to run in the other direction. Then another shot stopped her. Soon she was just running back and forth from shots. Tim and Gavin were roaring with laughter, which caused Will to spare a few chuckles.

"Will don't do this to your buddy!" Callie cried, which caused Will to finally burst out in laughter.

Finally Tim and Gavin had to reload, which gave Callie the chance to take off down the road. They raised their guns again quickly but she was no far off. Tim sighed disappointedly and they both dropped their guns. Will smiled and took Gavin's rifle from his hand.

"Hey Callie! Come back, they promise they won't shoot at you anymore!"

* * *

**A/N: I got into the updating spirit quickly and wrote this quickie. Like I mentioned this is the last update before I jump ahead a few years. If you have anything you want to see happen in the story or any sort of suggestion you're welcome to do so. Not totally sure what all I'm going to put into the second half but I can promise you that there will be a wedding, character deaths, and the appearance of another important character from the movies...**


	31. A new hobby

_**Three Years Later…**_

The morning had started out so nicely; the sun was shining, the birds were chirping, there was a light breeze to keep the warm air from sitting still, yet despite the total tranquility of the town there always seems to be something just waiting to disturb it.

"That is it! That is it! I cannot be in the same room as that thing anymore!" Mrs. Hangar, the hired instructor for Callie's latest potential hobby; cooking, stormed out of the front door with a scowl on her face and a burned spot on her backend.

"I don't see why she needs to learn to cook, seems like she survives just fine eating a bowl of sugar every day." Mrs. Hangar grumbled to herself.

"Mrs. Hangar! Mrs. Hangar please! I promise we won't let her light the stove anymore!" Anita called after her as she walked onto the front porch.  
"Hey mum!" Callie called as she ran up to her mom with a black face. "Did you know that when you stuff bread dough with chili powder and paprika and then put it in the oven it explodes?" Anita sighed, "No Callie I didn't." Anita said blandly.

"I did" Callie said, half laughing as she did. Anita turned to her daughter, her face showing her obvious distraught.

"You just wait until your Father comes home." Anita said as she pointed a sharp finger at her.

"I can't wait either; he's going to love the bread bomb thing!" Callie said.

"Oh, just go out and play." Anita said quickly as she walked back into the house, too aggravated to deal with her daughter at the moment and too worried about the small fire in the kitchen to stay outside for too long.

* * *

The entire house was silent as Inman entered through the front door. He glanced around a bit, looking into the first couple of rooms he passed. 

Inman had been gone for nine months on a trip for a very important meeting with the head of the East India Trading Company in England, who supposedly had an opportunity of a lifetime waiting for him. However it turned out that it was in fact a direct interrogation on him for information about a certain pirate ship that always managed to slip out of his clutches. Inman was bold with his choice of friends, no doubt about it, but that wasn't to say he wasn't also wise about it. Inman was well acquainted with the pirates aboard the Black Pearl, although he was also very well known amongst the officers, secretaries, and dock workers for the Company. Inman was well advised of the situation as soon as an EITC officer handed him the letter on his front porch, thus the Company received no information of Jack Sparrow or Inman's friendship with him.

"Hello?" Inman called, no answer came back. As he came further into the house he noticed a slight cloudiness in the rooms. He frowned and opened the window to empty it from the house.

"Anita?" Inman called as he waved his arms trying to get rid of the smoke as he walked to the kitchen.

"Anita? What's that smell?" He called as he saw his wife and their housemaid Bethany standing in the kitchen, obviously talking. Inman sniffed the air once more and his eyes widened quickly.

"Callie didn't set the rugs on fire again did she?"

"No she went straight for the instructor this time." Anita stated.

"She set the instructor on fire?" Inman cried.

"She set a bread bomb off on the poor woman."

"A bread bomb?" Inman asked.

Anita nodded solemnly. Inman smiled slightly.

"How'd she manage that?"

"Something with chili powder and paprika, but we are not encouraging this!" Anita snapped.

"I'm not encouraging, I was just curious. You don't hear that often." Inman paused a moment. "Wait, you had her cooking?" He accused.

Anita didn't answer, her grim look spoke for itself.

"Anita, that's like sticking your head in a lion's mouth! With all the incidents with fire over the years and you give her a direct source?"

"There was nothing else left! We've tried dancing, singing, harpsichord, violin, cello, drawing, painting, sculpting, poetry reciting, needle embroidery, and flower arranging, I ran out of options! Eleven hobbies in three years, three years, dearest!" Anita said frantically. Inman stepped up and held her shoulders comfortingly.

"Alright, alright, sorry for raising my voice. This is not your fault, I will go find her and discuss what she's going to do now." Inman kissed her on the forehead and quickly left.

"Good to have you home." Anita said simply after Inman left the room.

"Good to be home." Inman returned to the room, his voice sincere with just the slightest hint of sarcasm.

Inman went to the front door but as he reached for the door knob it turned on its own and Grandpa Frank flew in.

"Hi Father" Inman said, a bit puzzled in the manner of which his father entered.

"Do you know what your kid is doing right now?" Frank panted. Inman rolled his eyes and sighed.

"Look I-"

"She's playing chess." Frank interrupted his son. Inman's slightly open mouth dropped wide open with shock.

"She's what?" He asked.

"She's playing chess. Giles and Joe came over to play, and she came over to find Ray, soon she was playing."

"Well…" Inman trailed off, "what's so serious about that?"

"She's winning! We're playing for money and she's winning! And she won't stop playing! We've tried to get rid of her but she won't quit!" Inman laughed a bit.

"She is, is she?"

Grandpa Frank's lips pursed for a second.

"Don't you dare go all mushy and start sputtering crazy nonsense like 'oh she's just a little kid' or 'isn't she adorable', get her out of my house!"

"I gotta see this with my own eyes." Inman muttered to himself as he followed Frank out the front door.

* * *

Beads of sweat slowly dripped from Giles's forehead as his hand hovered back and forth from a pawn and his last bishop. He looked across the board to Callie sitting directly across from him. Her eyes narrowed as her competitive side took over her. Not a single piece from her was taken, not even one measly pawn. Her hand also hovered over her pieces, anticipating what Giles was going to do. Giles reached for his pawn and Callie reached for her knight; which would take him out. Giles reached for his bishop and Callie reached for her bishop; which would diagonally demolish Giles. 

Giles took a hard gulp and quickly moved his other pawn.

"Ha!" Callie barked and slammed her Queen down right in front of Giles's King.

"Don't you know by now girls always win?" Callie asked the newly dumbfounded Giles.

"Alright…" Callie said as she turned in her chair to face another chess board; this one with Joe at the other end.

"Where were we?" She asked.

Grandpa Frank opened the back porch door and they entered through the kitchen. Frank scoffed and pointed to his granddaughter.

"Get her out of here please. She's playing the both of 'em and still demolishing them. She's got at least ten pounds by now, look at that pile!"

Inman looked to the table and saw a rather big pile of coins sitting there.

"She's even got Joe's wig on her pile!" Frank said pointing to Callie's winnings and Joe's bare head.

"Why don't you just not play her?" Inman asked.

"And let word get out that we're afraid to play a little girl?" Grandpa Frank asked.

"What about word getting out that you got outplayed by a little girl?" Frank stayed silent for a bit.

"Get her out of here." He said simply.

Inman walked over to Callie and leaned slightly over her shoulder. She glanced at him and grinned her signature grin.

"Hi! When did you get home?" She asked cheerfully.

"About fifteen minutes ago. I heard about this morning Callie." Inman said sternly.

"Bet you didn't hear all of it, come on I'll tell you the whole story." Callie got up and both Giles and Joe let out a sigh of relief.

"Just let me get my winnings." Callie said as she began to scrap the coins off the table into her flat hand. Inman gently took her hand.

"Callie no. You can't take their money."

"But I won it!" Callie protested.

"If they were winning they wouldn't make you pay." Inman stated, before looking down at Callie. She had not believed a word of that.

"Wow, I didn't even believe that one." Inman said as he led her to the door. Callie huffed a bit then quickly hurried back to the table.

"I won this, I'm keeping it." Callie said as she picked up Joe's wig and stomped back towards the door.

* * *

"Chess? Really?" Anita asked as she held her teacup just below her lips. 

"Yeah, she was shooting out brilliant moves with barely a second of thought. It seems like she's got it all planned out before she even starts playing." Inman laughed, "Maybe she just needed something to challenge her."

Anita nodded and looked down into her tea.

"What?" Inman asked.

"Inman what if she starts gambling, or worse? You said she was playing your Father for money." Inman shook his head.

"No, I don't think we have to worry about that. She only played for money because they were already playing for money. I truly believe that now she's found something she truly enjoys she will just do it for the love of the game."

* * *

"Step right up folks, right up here! Five shillings for a game, and possibly recieve ten back!" Callie stood on top of a wooden barrel and called to the people passing by in town square. A small crowd had formed, mostly of children and drunkards but their money was still the same. 

"That's right folks, step right up here and play the amazing chess…ist." Callie trailed off. She crouched down to Will who was standing beside the crate.

"What's the term for a chess player?" Callie whispered.

"Chess player." Will stated before going back to his 'I'm here but I don't want to be' act.

"The amazing chess player! Come up and challenge the amazing chess player!" Callie cried as she stood up again.

"You ain't so tough! I eat little girls like you for breakfast!" A gruff looking man snorted.

"Lucky for me chess doesn't involve eating." Callie remarked.

"Get up here, show me what you got!"

The man stumbled up and plopped roughly on his seat in front of the

board. Callie quickly sat on the barrel she was standing on, and held out her hand.

"Wager first."

The man turned to his side, spat, then reached into his pocket and placed five small coins in her hand.

"You'll get these and five extra when you win." Callie said with a smile. Thus the game commenced, and oddly enough ended just as quickly with Callie keeping the five shillings in her hand.

"Than you kindly. It was a heck of a good try." Callie called after the man as he stomped angrily away. Callie stood back on top of the barrel.

"Who's next?

* * *

"Thirty-three, thirty-four, thirty-five, thirty-six, and thirty-seven." Callie counted, dropping the shillings back into the bag. 

"We could do better though." She thought for a moment. "We could send out letters and bring men here for me to play!" She exclaimed.

"Callie" Will said tiredly, "Do you have any idea how lucky you were that Payne didn't catch you gambling?"

Callie smiled, "Not all that lucky, just prepared." Will rose his brow nervously.

"It's quite strange how my grandmother's ear medicine can make my hometown's local law enforment officer sicker than a dog when he eats it."

Will shook his head at her, Callie scoffed.

"Don't worry Will, do you think I'm stupid? We won't have them come into town, we'll get them to meet us outside town, where no one can hear us."

"Meeting strangers outside of town where no one can hear us, that's the best idea you've ever had." Will said sarcastically. Callie reached into the bag and placed five shillings in Will's hand.

"What's this for?" Will asked.

"Five shillings for you to shut it." Callie said, Will got up and walked away.

"It's going to work!" Callie called after him.

"No it won't!" Will called back without even looking at her.

"Nag!" Callie yelled.

"Mule!" Will retorted, smiling over his shoulder.

"I'll see you tomorrow then." Callie called, Will didn't answer.

"Will, I'll see you tomorrow." She repeated. Will laughed a bit at himself. Almost four years ago in England if he had been talking to someone who was half as crazy as her then he would have high-tailed it home without ever speaking to them again.

"Alright then." Will said.

* * *

A few days later Will awoke one morning with a start. 

"Boy, come on down here. Your horse-back riding coaches are here."

"My what?" Will muttered to himself. He dressed quickly and came down the stairs to find three men waiting there that he had never seen before in his life.

"We have come to play the famous chessist." One of the men said in a low voice.

"Chess player!" Will said loudly. Just as the words left his mouth he snapped his mouth shut as to correct his loud outburst. He saw Uncle Tim and Gavin look for a moment then go back to their breakfasts. The men gave in an estranged look since they were not in on the situation.

"Alright, do you know where the playing spot is?" Will asked quietly, the men nodded.

"Take me there."

* * *

Behind Will's house, beyond a secluded pond, and behind the brush that surrounded the town waited Callie and fifteen men ranging from ages eighteen to fifty. They saw Will approaching and one yelled out, 

"Finally the greatest chessist has arrived." Will stopped dead in his tracks once he realized they were talking about him. Callie rushed through the crowd and walked quickly towards him.

"Callie, what are they talking about?" Will asked her sternly.

"Funny story…" Callie started, laughing nervously. "When they saw me they said there was no way I was the chessist-"

"Chess player!" Will interrupted.

"Whatever, anyway they wouldn't play me and they were gonna leave so I just said that you were it."

"Callie I can't play chess against these guys!" Will cried.

"Don't worry, I've got it covered. I've devised a system so you can play through my supervision. Come closer." Callie commanded. Will obeyed and leaned in so Callie could whisper in his ear.

"Come on! We gonna play or what?" Someone cried.

"Alright, come on Will." Callie muttered as she pulled him to the chess board laid out on a boulder. Will timidly sat on one edge of the board and looked into the crowd.

"Who's first?" Will asked, trying to sound tough.

"Me" A voice answered from the back, the crowd parted and a medium build and aged man approached. He said down and stared hard at Will.

"You can go first , son" He said mockingly. Will put his hand to his mouth as if he was thinking, and took rapid glances at Callie. First glance he saw Callie blink once then look to the left; first row, pawns, left side of the board. Second glance he took he saw her blink twice; second pawn in.

"Come on boy!" The man barked. Will quickly moved the pawn two spaces and sat back and waited for the man to take his turn.

This process continued from the first player to the very last, each one being completely annihilated by Will (Callie actually). Before they knew it they had gained another one hundred and seventy shillings in their money bag and the last defeated man walked away grimly. When the first man was defeated others came swarming in, the shock of a grown man being defeated in a game of wits by a young boy attracted more and more men to try to do what that man couldn't do. They played from more or less dawn 'til dusk, more specifically when the men stopped showing up.

"This is unbelievable, we have enough money here to buy anything we want… in this town anyway." Callie stated.

"Callie don't you think this is a little dangerous?" Will asked. Callie scoffed.

"I got Ray and Lucy in town keeping a watchful eye for Payne or anyone else who might find us out."

"Well what about these men that are coming to play? What if they get mad and…" Will trailed off.

"You're worried about that? You really don't give me enough credit. I've got a plan for if that happens." Callie said.

"What is it?" Will asked.

"I'll tell you if it happens, it's very simple."

"It's not just run away is it?" Will frowned slightly at her, Callie scoffed again.

"No, that's not it."

"Well what is it?" Will asked again.

"You'll find out later." Callie said.

"But-"

"I'm gonna turn in, you should too. We gotta be up early for more men to beat." Callie said as she stretched and got up from her seat.

"G'night Will." She said as she walked into the setting sun back home.

Will rolled his eyes and started back home himself

* * *

The next day and the day after that started out exactly the same, Will would pose as the chess player, take directions from Callie, take the man's money, and move on to the next person. It continued that way for a good week, and Will's doubting nature stayed strong the entire time. He was in fact proved right over the matter though. It had been exactly one week and two days since they first started this charade, it was the middle of the day, and the man Will was playing was a monster. He wasn't really all that big, but he had the most threatening way about him. He was gawky and sleazy looking but on the other hand those ones always seem to catch people off guard with their strength. He didn't play chess very well, in fact he played as if it were his first time, maybe it was. He glared at Will the entire time, his beady little eyes never leaving Will's for a second. This caused Will to reframe from glancing directly at Callie. He came rather good at glancing at her through the corner of his eye though; he could roughly make out what she was telling him to do. 

Will moved his knight, and the man half moved his queen and swiped Will's freshly moved knight in the process. Will frowned; his knight wasn't in the way of that Queen, was it? From the distance Will could see that Callie was upset.

"You cheated!" Callie spat.

"Who says?" The man barked.

"I say! No foul play!"

The man quickly shot up from his seat, Callie stood her ground.

"Well here's what I say, I'm gonna take this here money, and you youngsters are gonna run along." He tried to snatch the sack holding the money from Callie's hand, but she pulled away defensively.

"You shouldn't be playing grown men for money and you defiantly shouldn't be cheating when playing grown men for money." Sudden yells of anger spurt all around the men, they glared angrily at the two.

"The little boy is taking tips from the little girl. Every damn move he makes he glances all secret like at her, as she points where to move 'em." The man laughed, imitating Will's glancing techniques.

"I didn't point, I blinked!" Callie stated hotly before realizing that saying that was probably a big mistake. The men started to form a semi circle around Callie. She looked behind her nervously as the men became taller and taller; all standing within a meter distance of her.

"Give me the money." The man stated again, and like before Callie pulled the sack away.

"Here's what I'll give you." Callie's fist shot straight out and hit the man hard in the diaphragm. He let out a loud heave and bent over quickly. Callie ducked under his legs and began running towards Will.

"Go! Go!" Callie cried and Will did as she ordered. The men were piling after them, their speed increasing as their anger did.

"So what's this 'just in case' plan of yours?" Will asked between breaths.

"Running" Callie answered.

"You said it wasn't running!"

"I lied!" Callie admitted.

"I knew it! I was right about everything!" Will cried, despite the situation he sounded rather happy.

"Will not right now!" Callie begged.

"Say I was right." Will demanded.

"No"

"Say it."

"No!"

"Say it or I'll trip you!" Will threatened, trying to throw his right leg out at his between strides.

"You don't have the guts!" Callie challenged.

"You know me too well." Will muttered as he began run normally.

"Don't worry we're almost there!" Callie said.

"Almost where?"

"Here!" Callie grabbed the front of Will's shirt and threw him into a ditch, then jumped in herself. She frantically pawed at the side, getting grass away from a hidden hole.

"Follow me." Callie ordered as she crawled in on all fours.

"Quickly!" Callie said as she heard the thumps of men's feet as they landed in the ditch.

They immediately saw the opening of the hole, and one by one they desperately tried to shove themselves in there, although unfortunately for them the hole was only child-size.

"How did you ever find this?" Will asked the darkness, since it was absolutely pitch black in there.

"I dug this when I was five, I knew a tunnel leading outside the town would come in handy someday." The dark answered back.

"Is there enough air in here for us to crawl back into town?" Will asked nervously.

"I guess we'll just have to wait and see. I poked small holes every couple meters or so, but nothing too big or the thing would have caved in." Will heard Callie shuffling ahead of him.

"But just to be sure, let's go quickly and not talk much." She added. Will nodded but then realized she couldn't have seen that and muttered a quiet yes.

They stayed silent for a long time, almost fifteen minutes which was pretty impressive in their books. Callie led the way and Will followed a fair distance behind, or so he though. Absent-mindedly he reached out his hand and his landed on something live with flexing muscles and a foot on the end of it.

"Sorry, sorry!" Will repeated as he retracted his hand quickly.

"Steady on!" Callie joked as she went on, not the least bit affected by it.

Light appeared at the end of the tunnel soon enough and when the children finally managed to adjust their eyes to the sunlight they saw the tunnel led to the back entrance to the town. The back wall of town hall stood right in front of them.

Without even thinking they both sprinted into town, both eager to be where it's safe. They entered the town easily enough yet they weren't able to actually get past town square because two strong hands shot out and grabbed them both by the collar.

"Callie Caldwell, what in God's name were you doing just fifteen minutes ago?" Payne asked. Callie thought for a moment. She looked at Will; he was covered in dirt; face and all. No doubt she was like that as well.

"Would you believe a dirt fight?" Callie asked.

"Would you believe you two are going to prison?" Roscoe asked. Callie scoffed.

"No" She stated. Payne bent down.

"You should have more faith." He whispered in her ear.

"You two should be grateful that you're alive! If Mr. Jennings hadn't heard all those men yelling and cussing, and had come to report it they'd be wandering around town looking for you two." Roscoe stated as he closed the door to the cell roughly.

"They're gone?" Will asked.

"They're gone." Roscoe confirmed.

"You let them get away?" Callie asked, faking a shocked tone.

"I got the real culprits right here. And you're gonna stay right here until someone comes and bails you out." Roscoe stated as he sat down in his chair across from the cell.

"I got money to bail us out!" Callie said.

"Oh, no you don't." Inman stated calmly as he and Anita emerged.

"Since we can't give that money back to its owners that money's going straight to town funds."

Callie's mouth dropped open.

"All of it?"

"All of it." Inman and Anita said in unison. Callie sighed sadly as she stood up from her seat.

"Alright, let's just go home and get my punishment over with."

"This is your punishment." Inman said. Both Callie and Will's eyes shot directly at Inman.

"What?" Now was their turn to talk in unison.

"Your Father and I talked, with each other and with your uncles William, and we decided that a night in prison might just be the right thing to keep you both from committing a crime again!" Anita said sternly.

"But you can't-" Callie started.

"You do the crime, you do the time." Roscoe interrupted.

"But, but that's silly." Callie stammered, still trying to sway them over to her side.

"That's good, because you like silly, don't you?" Anita said as she bent down and reached through the bars to touch Callie's hand. Inman walked up to Anita and offered her his arm. She took it and they began to walk away. Before they exited they turned around for one moment.

"Good night children." They stated sweetly.

"Good night." Callie and Will said dully.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry about the long pause. Again just a lot of other factors working against me. I'm actually really excited about this half of the story because it really starts getting into character development. I've come up with lots of ideas, and so far I can promise you; ****introductions of new and old (meaning movie) characters, character deaths and near death situations, a wedding, first loves, and dare i say it...puberty. Should be fun, hope you all enjoy it.**


	32. Negatives about a snow day

It was mid November in Willow's Bend and for the first time in close to fifteen years snow actually began to fall. It was just barely evening when small snowflakes fell from the sky and by morning the ground was buried under three feet of snow. Callie opened her curtains and her face lit up like, like a child's at her first sight of snow.

* * *

Roseanne was to meet George that afternoon; he said he had something important to ask her. Roseanne carefully powered her cheeks and after she gave herself four or five once overs to make sure she looked perfect for George. Once she was satisfied she stood up from her dressing table and smiled at herself.

"Heads up Rosy!" She heard suddenly just as she turned a snowball hit her right in the face.

"Callie!" She screamed, not even having to actually see her.

"My face! My perfect face! You ruined it!"

"Well you wouldn't come outside so I brought the snow to you." Callie said innocently.

"Get out!" Roseanne ordered with a sharp pointed finger.

"And this is the thanks I get." Callie muttered as she whirled around and left Roseanne's room. As she left Roseanne saw another snowball in her hand.

"Head's up Annie!" She heard from down the hall, which was immediately followed by a shrill "Mother!" and some stomping down the stairs.

* * *

Will waddled down the road towards Callie's home. He shivered and pulled his very old coat tighter around him as a cold wind rushed past him. He rounded the corner of the house and saw Callie, Ray, and Lucy in the distance at the river by her house, the one where Will had broken his leg a few years ago. Will laughed to himself as he watched them slip, slide, and of course fall on the slippery surface. No matter how badly Will was slipping on the ice, he seemed like he was doing a ballet compared to how the others moved on the ice.

Once he reached the river he eagerly stepped down onto the ice so he could join his friends. This would have to be the first time where Will was actually able to enjoy the snow with friends. He remembered snow from England, although he was very young. He never really had much of a chance to enjoy it there; his mother worked constantly cleaning houses for wealthy people, and while she did that Will waited for her in the entrance way of the houses. Although if the people were kind they would let him sit in the living room; they'd have a maid put a blanket over a chair so he wouldn't get it dirty, but it was still better than sitting on an rickety stool by the door watching his own mother scrub the floor.

Will remembered on Christmas morning when he was about four or so, his mother was asked to come clean the home for the Duke of Abishire. The walk home that night would have been the first time he really got a taste of what it's like to play in the snow. He was giddy from sitting still for so long and his mother encouraged it by playfully; but lightly, throwing bits of snow at him. He'd also remember that day because that was the day when he discovered his interest in reading.

While he waited for his mother the Duke must have felt guilty about him just sitting there so he handed him a book to look at the pictures. As the hours passed and Will had flipped through the book three or four times he began to look at the words on the pages instead of the pictures. As several people from all different social statuses walked by, Will would point to a word in the book and ask the person what that word said. Once he got an answer he'd flip through the book and find the word throughout it. Then he'd find another word, ask someone, and then flip through the book to find it again. The people that were walking by started to become familiar so he tried to keep asking new people, but sometimes it was very unavoidable. One man in particular Will had asked more than once, twelve times to be exact. The man was kind though; he would chuckle then turn to look at the book to see which word Will wanted to learn.

"That word is tower, like a building." He answered to Will's last question.

"Mr. Swann, we need you." A voice came from the drawing room.  
"Keep practicing." The man said to Will as he walked away in the direction of the other voice.

Will's mother had noticed Will's attempts at reading and decided to offer the Duke half of her day's pay for the book that Will was reading so he could practice more. The Duke agreed to it and from then on Will would go over that book every night until he had learned and memorized every word in there. His mother encouraged his reading and thus bought more second hand books for him to read, although he had to leave them all behind in England once his mother died. He only had room for bare essentials.

* * *

Will stepped on the ice and as he made his way over his left foot lost its grip and sent his left foot flying out from under him. In a desperate attempt to recover his balance his right leg scooted forward a bit, yet he still was a bit wobbly. He tried to get his stand position to normal again yet instead he seemed to have pushed himself too much which sent him flying down the river towards the other three standing in front of him. A dominos effect soon came into order as one fell after another. Will crashed into Lucy, Lucy fell into Callie, and Callie grabbed at Ray for support and pulled him down too.

"Always have to be the center of attention, don't you?" Callie asked as she gazed at him over Lucy's body. Will struggled to his feet,

"It's a nice break from you, don't you all think?" He asked Ray and Lucy, they both laughed a bit. Lucy held out her hands to Will and he took them so he could quickly hoist her to her feet. Both Ray and Will offered a hand to Callie but she ignored them both and got to her feet by herself.

"Alright," Callie half breathed as soon as she stood up. "The name of the game is…" She trailed off for a second, lost in thought. "Well okay there's no name but what we're going to do is take a sled over to the top of that hill," Callie pointed to the one just west of them, " and try to stand on it while it goes down the hill and over the ice. "

"What? I can't do that!" Lucy exclaimed.

"Well you're going to try." Callie stated back.

"Can we do it in pairs?" Lucy asked, stealing a quick glance at Will.

"No" Callie said as she walked off the ice towards the hill.

* * *

"Ready Ray?" Callie asked as her foot rested on the edge of the sled. Ray stood awkwardly on top of it.

"Why aren't you the first to try this?" Ray asked.

"Because you have to save the best for last, now go!" Callie quickly shoved her foot against the sled, causing it to swiftly make its way down the hill. Ray barely made it a quarter of the way down before he flew off and rolled the rest of the way down on the way.

"Pathetic! Bring it back up, its Lucy's turn." Callie yelled to him.

They took turns one right after the other, none of them being too successful at it. Lucy fell as soon as the sled was pushed, Will made it half way before falling backwards off it, and Callie made it half way before side somersaulting off the sled.

"I beat you!" Will called down to her.

"No you didn't, you fell just before the rock, and I fell after it!" Callie retorted as she pulled the sled back up.

"What are you talking about? I was just at the rock, you were before."

"Yeah well you might have been but then you fell backwards, and I fell forwards so I win." Callie said with pride.

"It doesn't matter where you land, it matters on where you fall off the sled, and I lasted longer, so I win." Will said. Callie's mouth snapped shut angrily.

"I'm going again. " She muttered. She set the sled down and was about to step on it when an idea hit her.  
"Hey…" She began, laughing to herself as she thought.

She put her foot on the edge of the sled and pushed it off by itself, as it started to fall Callie quickly took off after it. Once she felt she was close enough she made a giant leap to land on it. She only succeeded, however, in having her foot in contact with the sled before she fell hard on her backend and tumbled fast the whole way down.

The other three grimaced as they watched her from above.

"Whoa!" Callie called, "Did you see when I bounced off that rock?"

"Unfortunately" Lucy said. Callie quickly got to her feet and brushed the snow off her.

"Oh, that got some snow in some awkward areas." Callie shook her rear end slightly. She looked ahead and saw the sled lying still on the ice. Callie carefully stepped down onto the frozen river and waddled over to get it.

"Alright, who's going nex-" The ice made a sickening crack and before Callie could even finish her sentence she fell along with the collapsing ice chunks into the freezing water below.

Frozen with fear, the other three stood still, not totally registering what had just happened. Callie's head bobbed up and she gasped and choked out water as she clawed at the edge to pull herself up; which turned out to be useless since the ice would fall apart in her hands as she grabbed onto it.

"What are you doing-" Callie fell under water again, and then popped back up. "Help me!" She fell under water again only this time she didn't resurface. Will and Ray took off down the hill.

"Go get someone!" Will yelled to Lucy over his shoulder as he and Ray clumsily slid down the hill. From a distance they could hear Lucy's cries getting farther and farther away.

"Callie's under the ice! Callie's under the ice!" She cried frantically.

The two boys stepped down on the ice yet they had to slow down drastically so they wouldn't lose their balance or step onto thin ice themselves. As they approached the hole Will carefully laid down on his stomach and Ray did the same. They lay as close to the edge of they could get without the ice breaking and they began frantically waving their hands in the water, blindly looking for Callie.

"Move!" A sudden voice roared and the two boys were shoved hastily out of the way. Inman suddenly appeared in their viewpoints and he was now frantically thrashing his arm in the water. A few tries of that with no daughter coming up and Inman soon started dunking his whole head into the water to look for her.

He pulled his head out, which was dripping wet with hair that was now starting to freeze. He searched the ice frantically and started wiping snow away so he could look through the ice.

"Where is she? Where is she?" He was in hysterics now as he clawed at the ground.

"Father, can I borrow your coat?" They all heard and turned swiftly to the left. They stood Callie, at the far edge of the river, a few feet in front of another opening. Her face was completely red, from the cold and a small cut that was bleeding down the side of her face. The coat she was wearing earlier was gone and she was now shaking like a leaf.

Inman slide his way over to her and wrapped her in his arms.

"My coat was heavy, I had to take it off." Callie breathed through the cold. Inman hastily shrugged his own off and wrapped it tightly around her before hugging her tightly again.

"You, okay? You cut yourself…" Inman whispered; not intentionally, to her as he tenderly touched her forehead where the cut sat.

"It's not that bad," Callie winced and tilted her head away from Inman's touch. "Just don't touch it."

Inman smiled weakly. He sniffed a bit from the cold and hugged her one last time.

"I'm taking you home." He whispered as he picked her up while she was still in his embrace and began walking back to the house.

"No, Father, I can walk!" Callie protested and groaned at the same time, embarrassed of her friends seeing her being carried off helplessly.

Inman ignored her pleas and just quickened his pace, leaving the two boys to follow quietly behind him.

* * *

**AN: This chapter is continued with a short one. Another Inman/Will conversation.**


	33. Recuperating

"Can I take this blanket off? I'm starting to sweat." Callie complained as she twitched under the thick wool blanket that was wrapped tightly around her.

"No" Bethany barked as she gingerly cleaned Callie's cut.

"Well can I at least move away from the fire?" Callie panted.

"No" Anita answered from above her, roughly drying her hair.

"I've got to be the first person ever that almost froze to death and died of heat in the same day!" Callie muttered. Bethany and Anita looked at each other and smiled. Bethany touched Callie's cut with a newly reheated cloth and Callie jumped.

"Careful woman!" She cried.

* * *

Inman heard his daughter's cry and quickly glanced over his shoulder at the closed door behind him. Inman had taken a seat at the top of the stairs, waiting for the chance to have the final conclusion that his youngest daughter was indeed okay. He even sent out Evelyn and Annette to fetch Dr. Butler to take a look at Callie. 

He looked down the stairs and saw a tiny shadow on the far wall shuffling around nervously.

"Can you come up here please, Will?" Inman asked, knowing immediately who it was. Will slowly appeared and made his way up the stairs. He sat down beside Inman and they stayed quiet for a moment.

"I'm sorry, I tried to get her out but I couldn't get there fast enough…" Will said quickly before trailing off. Inman shook his head.

"It's alright." Inman said quietly. Another long silence settled in.

"I didn't hurt you when I pushed you out of the way, did I?" Inman asked. Will shook his head.

"Good, sorry about that, I was just very frantic…and…" Inman too trailed off as he remembered what had just happened an hour ago.

"It's alright." Will said.

Once again stunned silence took over.

"Ouch! Yeah it's attached; I'm just as stunned as you!" Callie's voice came from the room behind them, and suddenly they both burst out in a giddy laughter.

"Never turns it off for a moment does she?" Inman said.

"I don't think she can!" Will laughed softly. Inman thought for a moment.

"You know Will, there's something I really have meant to talk to you about, but I wanted to wait for a moment when we were alone." Inman began. Will looked up at him, his eyes were patiently waiting for Inman to begin.

"Do you remember that night that you snuck into my office?" Inman began, Will immediately looked down at his feet.

"-of course you do, anyway, after that night I started writing letters; sending out searches for your Father, Bill Turner." A spark seemed to have been set off in Will; Inman saw a look that he had never seen before in all the years that he had known him. Inman smiled at the boy's enthusiasm.

"I've sent and left letters with old friends, merchants, naval officers anyone who had anything to do with the man. He is unfortunately a very difficult man to track down, however I think if I play my cards right I just might be able to track him down for you…in case you're interested." Inman said casually with a small smirk hidden in the corner of his mouth.

He left out the part where Inman mentioned that it was mostly pirates that had anything to do with the man; the boy didn't need to know that. After all the years Inman tried to stick to his promise, he would eventually track down the man for Will, but before he would even consider re-introducing the two he would have to have a serious conversation with Bill Turner about his actions; past, present, and future.

Will grinned hugely as if he was drunk with joy.

"I'd be so unbelievably grateful!" He exclaimed. Inman nodded calmly and ruffled Will's hair.

The door suddenly opened and Evelyn, Annette, Dr. Butler, and a pile of snow entered quickly.

"Here I am, here I am…" said the old doctor as he began up the stairs. Inman and Will quickly stood up to let the old doctor pass.

"Let's see the patient now." The doctor said, Inman pointed to bedroom where Anita and Bethany were tending to Callie. He took his time shuffling over there, let himself in, and weakly closed the door behind him.

"He's sure getting old." Inman said, to no one in particular. They could hear muffled voices from inside the room.

"Okay now let's see what the damage is." The voice behind the door said. Then suddenly a loud of rummaging and thudding sounds occurred.

"Hey don't touch me there!" a voice exclaimed.

"Now sweetie, must we do this every time you have a boo-boo?"

"I don't get boo-boos! I get injuries-but this isn't an injury!" The voice retorted.

"I'm fit as a fiddle. Look how fast I can run!" The door swung open and Callie shot out like a bullet wearing nothing but a thin white nightgown.

"Callie! Callie!" Inman called after her as she tore down the stairs. Inman quickly put a hand over Will's eyes.

"Please cover your eyes." Inman said. Will obliged and covered his vision with his own hands, so Inman could take his hand away. Anita and Bethany quickly emerged from the room and took off after her.

"I'm fine! I'm fine! I'm fine!" Callie repeated as she ran. Although obviously she wasn't really paying much attention to where she was going since she ran straight into the door that stood in front of her. Everyone stopped dead in their tracks; Callie took a step away from the door. Her hand covered her nose for a second, however it dropped and she shook her head a bit.

"I really am fine!" she called back before taking off to the left into the dining room.

"Callie, wait!" Anita cried as she and Bethany took off after her. As the voices drifted father away, Inman touched Will's hands lightly, wordlessly telling him he can take his hands down now.

"Aren't you going to go after her?" Will asked. Inman thought about it, and then shrugged.

"Nah, it's Callie's Mother's turn anyway."

* * *

**AN: Sorry to keep anybody waiting, I don't really have the time to update as much as i would like to. Anyway hope you enjoyed it. This is unfortunatley a short one, I'm sorry about that, so to make it up to you here's a small preview of the next update; Callie (with the help of Will, Ray, and Lucy) tries to find a new man for Roseanne (Excuse the rhyme), there's more to it but I don't want to spoil it. P.S there is a very slight hint as to what profession the guy will have from this chapter, see if you can get it.**


	34. House Calls

Roseanne entered the house silently with a dreamy smile on her face.

"Rose!"

"Rosy!" Two voices sounded. She looked up and saw Evelyn and Annette thumping down the stairs.

"What happened? Evelyn asked.

"Did he ask you what I think he asked you?" Annette pressed. Roseanne simply smiled.

"I need to speak with Mother and Father. " was all she said. Both girls squealed with delight and followed her into the kitchen. Inman and Anita sat on opposite sides of the table with Callie sitting in the middle.

"Mother, Father, I have something to tell you." Roseanne began.

"Not right now Rosy, Callie almost drowned today." Anita said. Roseanne's eyes widened.  
"What? I get engage _and_ Callie almost died? This is the best day ever!"

* * *

Two days later, a quick knock came at the door.

"Hold him off! I'm not ready yet!" Roseanne wailed down the stairs to Inman who at the moment was heading for the door. On the other side of the now opened door stood George, dressed in a refined petticoat and standing perfectly straight.

"Hello George, won't you come in?" Inman said with forced politeness as he turned to the side to allow George to enter.

Once he was inside Inman closed the door loudly. Startled by the noise, George whirled around and saw Inman glaring angrily at him.

"You didn't even bother to ask me, eh?" He said coldly.

"Excuse me?" George said nervously.

"You ask my daughter to marry you and you don't ask her Father first?" Inman barked. He quickly started to roll up his sleeves.

"I'm going to raise you right off the floor!"

"Inman!"

"Father!" Anita and Roseanne came charging in. Anita began pulling Inman away as Roseanne stood protectively in front of George.

"I just want to talk to him!" Inman pleaded as Anita pushed him into another room.

"Your Father seems really angry. " George stated.

"He is, but he's not the one you should be worried about." Roseanne started.

"Just so you know my little sister Callie hates new family members and loves fire, so watch out."

They served the supper relatively early, yet even by that time the sun had already set and the dining room was surrounded in lit candles. Everyone sat quietly around the table; no conversation took place; nothing beyond simple small talk. Everyone basically stuck to their own thoughts. Inman sat still, glaring as George. Anita nervously looked around the room. Roseanne smiled at George and her Father, as if that would make him like George. Evelyn and Annette giggled at the newly engaged couple, and Callie just sat there, with a knowing smile on her face.

The dinner continued on that way from start to end, and even after dinner. By that time they were all seated in the living room. Roseanne decided to impress George by playing his favorite song and softly sang the words to it.

Callie rolled her eyes as they all listened to Roseanne's novice-like singing. Her eyes glanced occasionally at the piano, then at Roseanne and George. Roseanne was almost through with the song when she was to play the higher keys of the piano. On the last note though instead of hearing the correct high pitch, an unpleasant plunk came from the piano instead. She stopped dead for a moment and continued to press the key, trying to get a new sound from it. Roseanne smiled awkwardly as embarrassment showed on her face. George came to her aid and glanced at the chords from the inside of the piano. Unable to see very well, George stuck his head further under the lid.

"I'll help." Callie said as she stood up.

"No!" Everyone cried at once.

"You stay right there!" Roseanne ordered. Callie faked disappointment and slumped roughly against a bookshelf behind her. So rough in fact that items on the bookshelf rattle loose and moved around. On top of the shelf a collection of encyclopedias and a globe, which quickly toppled off the shelf and hurtled down towards the lid of the piano. Before anyone could react the fallen items hit the lid, causing it to fall hard onto George. His body fell hard and was soon pinned by the heavy lid. He was not in a position to use his arms, although he did kick and holler like a maniac.

Everyone quickly came to his aid, pulling and heaving at the lid, yet oddly it would not lift an inch.

"Are you in pain? Can you breathe?" Anita asked as she pulled.

"I'm fine, just get it off!" His muffled voice called. Finally after a while, the lid budged a little, as it did a loud cracking noise erupted from the piano. Inman moved to the side and examined the lid. Poking out of the lid were the pointed edges of nails. He glanced over his shoulder at Callie, who was standing in the same place with the same smile as before. Inman turned back and pulled harder at the lid. After a while the lid finally came loose and George was free. He jerked himself up and angrily straightened his coat. He shot an angry glance at Roseanne before stomping off. Roseanne mimicked George's look at Callie then urgently chased after him.

As soon as they heard the front door close everyone ran to the window.

"You've really done it now Callie!" Annette snarled as she peeked over Evelyn's head out the window. They could see George and Roseanne talking; George was waving his arms angrily and Roseanne looked like she was near tears. Inman's arm muscles flexed angrily at the sight of his daughter's unhappiness. He tried to go to Roseanne's aid but Anita hastily stopped him.

"You can't protect her from this." She said softly to him. The front door opened and Roseanne emerged into the living room with red and teary eyes.

"How could you do this to me? You black hearted creature!" Roseanne wailed at Callie.

"I did you a favor." Callie said coolly. "Did you hear the way the man screamed when he was stuck? Is that the kind of person you want to have around in a crisis? I wouldn't!" Roseanne let out another cry and ran away to her room.

"Rosy!" Inman chased after her and following behind were Evelyn and Annette. Anita meant to follow but first looked down at Callie.

"Is there any chance you feel at least a little sorry?" She asked. Callie thought for a moment.

"Well now that you mention it, I have this weird pressure in my chest and it's causing me to get a lump in my throat." Anita smiled sadly.

"There now you see sweetie, that's your conscience-" Callie held up her hand and belched quickly.

"Okay, feelings gone."

"Your Father and I will deal with you once we're sure your sister is okay." Anita sighed sadly and she left the room.

"…and then he said that he couldn't get married to me with my sister endangering his life and my father looking at him like he was an animal." Roseanne sobbed into her father's shoulder, while the others sat around with a sympathizing look on their face.

"And then he said if he did marry me then we'd have to spend as little time with you guys as possible, and I just couldn't do that…so that's what I told him, and then he asked for the ring back." Roseanne let out a loud wail at the end.

At that very moment Callie had her ear pressed against the closed door, and an idea suddenly hit her like a brick wall.

* * *

The next morning everyone was sitting at the breakfast table in silence; including Callie. Evelyn and Annette glared daggers at Callie, for Roseanne's sake, while Roseanne herself stared blankly down into her food. A knock at the door came suddenly.

"I'll get it!" Callie jumped up immediately and ran to the door. They heard the door open and a friendly greeting between Callie and an unrecognizable male voice.

"Just come in here." They heard Callie say, and they glanced tensely amongst themselves. Callie soon re-entered the room with a gawky young man. He had carrot red hair, a face covered in freckles, and gangly arms and legs which made his already enormous Adams apple seem even larger.

"That's her, that's Roseanne." Callie directed him to where Roseanne was sitting. A new sudden interest glittered in the gawky mans eyes and he boldly walked over to her.  
"Callie?" Roseanne said nervously as she moved in her chair.

"Father?" She asked again as he got closer. Inman took no time in getting out of his chair and stood protectively by Roseanne. Once the gawky man was as close to her as he could be, seeing as though Inman was standing in between them, he dropped to his knees.

"Roseanne Caldwell, my name is Artie Fisher and I have to be bold and say you are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen." He said with barely a breath in between. Roseanne shifted uneasily and let out a tiny laugh.

"You're so beautiful I wouldn't mind if your sister set me on fire and your Father castrated me-well I guess I would mind because then you couldn't mother my children-"

"Okay Artie! It's time for you to go!" Inman bellowed and pulled him to his feet. Roseanne already had her head buried in her hands.

"I count the days until we are joined in holy matrimony my love." Artie called as Inman helpfully threw him out the door. Once Artie was fully gone Roseanne unburied her face and looked at Callie.

"Okay, I know what you're thinking. 'Well he was he a dud.' But don't you worry, I will go back out and keep bringing back men until you see one you like." Callie announced and quickly went out the front door.

"Well, this could be interesting…" Inman said.

"You aren't actually going to let her bring strange men into the house to me to meet are you?" Roseanne asked her parents. Inman looked at her and smiled.

"This is just your sister's way of saying she's sorry." Roseanne rolled her eyes at her father's usual defense of Callie.  
"Just humor her for a bit, and she'll get tired of it and quit. You'll see."

With that, the door suddenly flew open.

"I got another one! I got one!" Callie's voice came into the house. Soon she re-entered the room once again, this time with a naval officer in tow.

"Important message for Inman Caldwell." He said lamely and held out a letter to Inman. Callie shook his arm roughly and pointed to Roseanne.

"That's my sister right there. You married? I don't see a ring." Callie examined his hand. Inman took the note from the officers.

"Thank-you, you can go now." Inman said apologetically. The officer bowed slightly and took his hand back from Callie before swiftly leaving the Caldwell home.

"That's okay, Rosy, I don't think he was the one either. In fact I think he's one of those men that likes men. All he ever talked about was Father." Callie said.

"I'll just go back out there and get another one!" She said as she exited the room once again.

* * *

Two weeks had passed and Callie had not given up on her search, no matter how unsuccessful it was. So far Callie had brought twenty two men to the house, some were grosteque, some were already married, and some were even gagged and drug over against their will. Everyone one of them was turned away by Roseanne. After a while, Callie saw fit to bring in some recruits.

"What about that guy? I don't see a ring." Callie observed.

"You've brought him back three times already." Will said tiredly. "Callie if you're going to just grab random men off the street you can at least remember which ones you've taken."

"Right…" Callie began as she continued to look. "How old are you Will?"

Will rose his brow at her incredulously.

"We have the same birthday." He said.

"So you're…" Callie began

"Ten" Will said finally.

"There's people who have gotten married younger, let's go!" Callie grabbed Will by the wrist and began to pull.

"Callie no!" Will cried as he dug his heels into the dirt.

"Come on! She's pretty, you'll like being married." Callie pulled harder at his arm.

"Callie stop it!" Will finally wrenched his arm loose and ran in the other direction. In seconds Callie was right behind him.

"You're taking this a little too seriously!" Will called over his shoulder.

"I have to find someone for Roseanne!" Callie stated.

"But the only men you're finding are completely insane or weak enough to get basically kidnapped by a young girl."

"None of the sane or strong ones will come back with me!" Callie retorted through her breathes.

"It's not your job to find Roseanne a husband!" Will pressed as he kept running.

"But I'm the one that got rid of that stupid old-" Suddenly a door flew open and Callie ran face first into it.

"George." Callie said lamely before falling to the ground.

Two struggled knocks came at the Caldwell's front door. Bethany opened the door and was shocked to see Callie lying limply in the arms of a strange man.

"Mrs. Caldwell!" She cried behind her.

"Get Roseanne!" Callie said through practically limp lips.

"Oh dear! What happened to her now?" Anita cried as she ran up to her daughter.

"Just ran into a door. It was my fault, I just swung it open." The man stated.

"Get Roseanne!" Callie pleaded again.

"Roseanne!" Anita humored Callie. Although once she did she couldn't help but notice how hansom, young, and, well normal this man was.

"I checked her nose for any type of fracture, but it seems fine. This little one's pretty tough, didn't cry or anything. " The man said as he passed Callie into Anita's arms.

"Oh." Anita said, surprised by the man's knowledge of human anatomy. "What, may I ask do you do, Mr.…" Anita trailed off.

"Carmichael, Daniel Carmichael. I'm the new doctor in town, the replacement for Dr. Butler." Daniel introduced himself.

"Oh" Anita said dumbly. "Roseanne!" She called again and snapped her attention back to Daniel, who was giving her an odd look.

"I'm Anita Caldwell, and this is Callie." Anita raised Callie's limp head towards Daniel for a moment and laughed for a second.

"Yes I know, the young boy she was with told me and directed me to your home. " Daniel laughed slightly.

"What is it Mother?" Roseanne said tiredly as she finally descended from the stairs. Although once she caught sight of who was at the door it seemed as though she completely forgot how to walk. She smiled slightly at the man and he returned it surprisingly fast for a man.

"Daniel Carmichael, this is my eldest daughter, Roseanne Caldwell." Anita broke the silence. Roseanne suddenly flew down the stairs and offered her hand to Daniel. This took his lightly and placed a chaste kiss on it.

"Daniel is the new doctor, he's replacing Dr. Butler." Anita added. Roseanne smiled again.

"Great! Callie gets hurt a lot." Roseanne said suddenly without thinking. Realizing quickly what she said, she dropped her gaze in slight embarrassment as her cheeks turned red. Daniel laughed again.

"Well, nothing has seemed to taken her down yet. But I really must be going." He said as he headed for a door. He did however notice the enormous droop in Roseanne's face.

"Very nice to meet you ladies, and Callie if you can hear me, try to be more careful as to where you're going." He said and walked out of the door. As soon as the door closed both women let out shrill giggles.

"For the first time in my life I actually enjoyed a house call." Roseanne giggled.


	35. The replacement, Gary part 1

Will's window swung open and Callie jumped in, tripping roughly on the sill and falling to the floor. Will looked up from his book only for a moment before going back to reading. Callie picked herself up hastily and walked around the room for a while. She was breathing rather harshly as she paced around the room. Occasionally as she would steal a glance at Will, checking to see if he had abandoned his book yet, which in fact he hadn't.

"Well, aren't you going to ask me what's wrong?" Callie snapped finally.

"You're going to tell me anyway so what's the point?" Will didn't look up from his book once. Callie folded her arms and held a stubborn silence. Finally Will put his book down and actually made eye contact with her. After a few moments went by it was obvious that Callie wasn't going to talk without encouragement so Will let out a heavy sigh, as always, and finally asked the inevitable question, "So what's wrong?"

"Roseanne's trying to kill me." Callie said. Will did not believe her.

"Roseanne's trying to kill you?" He repeated skeptically. Callie nodded.

"She takes every chance she gets to hurt me."

'_Finally, a taste of your own medicine.' _Will thought to himself.

"Look what she did to me this morning!" Callie pulled up her sleeve to show Will the scrape on her elbow.

"She tripped me and I slid three feet on the wood floor!" Callie whined.

"Why would Roseanne want to hurt you?"

"So she can go see Dr. Dan, I know it." Callie stated.

"How do you know?" Will asked.

"Because after she does something to injure me she offers to take me to the doctor, and then forgets to bring me along!"

Will stated to laugh a bit but quickly hid his growing smile, luckily Callie was so absorbed in her dilemma that she had not yet noticed. Once again, she started pacing around, muttering to herself. She only stopped when Will asked the second most inevitable question when dealing with Callie.

"So what exactly are you planning to do about it?"

Callie sighed and thought for a moment.

"Well," she began "my initial plan was to make a protective suite out of old boots and petticoats until I came up with an even better and less smelly idea."

* * *

A knock came at the door of the Caldwell home later that day. Roseanne opened the door and her face lit up.

"Dr. Carmichael." She breathed. "To what do I owe the pleasure?" Dr. Dan smiled and looked down at his side. Down there stood Will with shifty nervous eyes. "Callie's sick." Will said in quite possibly the strongest monotone ever. "She insisted that he take a look at her himself."

"Is that the doctor?" Callie's voice came from upstairs. "Oh woe is me, I'm fatally ill." Callie said in an ailing attempt to make her illness believable, while throwing a few pitiful coughs in between her words. Roseanne glared up at Callie's half closed door, although she soon forgot about her once she heard Dr. Dan laugh.

"Well, at least I know now that it's not her throat that's sick, since she is able to call across the house." Dr. Dan smiled down at Roseanne again before quickly looking to the floor. "If you'll excuse me." He said quietly as he bowed and walked awkwardly past her up the stairs.

Not five minutes later Dr. Dan came quickly down the stairs.

"She seems to be fine. She burned herself a bit from the candle wax she used to make her forehead warmer, but other than that she's perfectly fine." Roseanne nodded quickly. Once Dr. Dan got the bottom of the stairs they stared awkwardly at each other for a moment. As they stared they didn't notice Callie come down the stairs and smile proudly at Will over their heads.

"I guess I'd better go. I'm due at the Hopkins's for a check on Miss Hopkins." Dr. Dan said at last. _'How typical of Susan Hopkins to try to fake an illness. Lord knows that woman is as healthy as a horse. How dare she try to pose as a wilting flower!' _Roseanne thought acidly to herself.

"Okay." Was all Roseanne said out loud though. Dr. Dan bowed one last time and started for the door. As he walked out, he suddenly stopped and turned around. He opened his mouth to speak, but closed it quickly as of loss of words. Through Roseanne's hopeful thoughts she realized finally that Callie was close behind her eavesdropping. Quickly Roseanne shot her foot out and hastily shoved Callie away.

"You wouldn't be interested in having lunch with me tomorrow, would you?" Dr. Dan asked. It did not take long for another one of Roseanne's bright smiles to resurface again.

"I'd love to, but I'm not supposed to have meals, or do much of anything really, alone with men." She decided to keep her reputation clean and not mention the private excursions Roseanne had snuck in with George without her parent's knowledge.

"Oh, how foolish of me not to mention, there's a young boy staying at the infirmary right now. He's from Charlestown although his parents had to leave for a while and they didn't trust him alone with anyone else while he was ill so they sent him here with me. He's been feeling much better lately so I thought I would take him out for a day. You could bring your sister along. Gary and she are about the same age."

"Evelyn?" Roseanne asked. Dr. Dan shook his head.

"Annette?" Roseanne asked nervously. Dr. Dan laughed and shook his head.

"Oh her" Roseanne said in a very low tone. Dr. Dan's light chuckle turned into a flat out hearty laugh.

"She may be a tad strange, but at least it's not boring."

"No, it's defiantly not boring…" Roseanne agreed.

"Family's the most important thing, can't argue with that right?" Dr. Dan asked. Roseanne nodded and reached for something behind her.

"Oh yes!" Roseanne said. Suddenly Callie appeared in the doorway under Roseanne's grip. Within a second or two Callie was pushed roughly up against Roseanne. "So important!" She agreed before planting a loud kiss on top of Callie's head. Callie groaned loudly and squirmed under Roseanne's arm. Dr. Dan however had not noticed Callie's obvious distaste or snickering Will no more than a few feet back from her. Dr. Dan gave a loud "aww" at the two sisters.

"I'll be there around noon tomorrow?" Dr. Dan asked.

"Yes of course. We'll _**both **_be ready!"

* * *

The next morning came too slowly in Roseanne's mind, and too fast in Callie's. For that afternoon Roseanne had chosen an ivory gown with a hat to match, and for Callie she chose a gown of matching color with braid tied with pretty pale pink ribbon.

"Callie Caldwell does not do pigtails and bows!" Callie roared at Roseanne as she stomped down the stairs.

"It's all for the cause, and if we don't look like we're close then we'll have to act like we're close. Do you want me to kiss you again?" Roseanne threatened. Callie's eyes widened in fear and she quickly abandoned her fitful mood.

Dr. Dan was right on time, and he was accompanied by a young boy roughly Callie's age, or maybe a little older.

"Ladies, may I present to you Gary Marshall. Gary this is Roseanne and this is Callie." Gary had a very odd way about him. He stared a lot and said very little. Plus the fact that he had bulbous dark eyes, a face full of freckles, and a gangly body didn't help matters at all. As they walked to the spot where they were having lunch in the fields, Dr. Dan and Roseanne walked ahead while Callie alternated between walking fast and slow as to avoid walking beside Gary, who was giving her non-stop odd looks. The entire afternoon carried on like that. Dr. Dan and Roseanne talked and referred to each other as if they were in their own little world, and as usual Gary did nothing but stare blankly at Callie. After a while Callie finally broke down and tried to make conversation.

"So, are you able to speak and just choose not to or what?" Callie finally snapped.

"You seem like the type of person that doesn't like to be burdened with conversation." Gary had a very grownup tone for such a young boy. Callie scoffed.

"You don't know what you're missing; being a burden is one of my top three favorite things to be." Gary suddenly burst out into a forced laugh. It startled Callie immensely and through her surprise she accidentally threw the apple she was eating and hit Roseanne square in the head. She was too preoccupied with Gary however to notice the death stare her sister was giving to her.

"That's a good one!" Gary snorted.

"Yeah," Callie muttered nervously, "I'm am known for that. You have good taste in…sayings." She added as she tried to turn away and pretend to look at the view ahead of them.

"You really think so?" Gary asked hopefully, causing Callie to abort her previous plans and glance again at Gary.

"Yeah, sure." Callie said in the same nervous tone.

Early morning the next day Callie lazily rolled over in her bed and tightly hugged Captain Hugsy, Callie's secret stuffed puppy. A knock came suddenly and Callie's door began to open. Callie woke up immediately and hastily threw Captain Hugsy under the covers.

"What?" Callie yelled angrily.

"Sorry Miss Callie, but you have a…gentleman caller. " Bethany said with a slight hint of laughter in her voice.

"Huh?" Callie asked, still drunk with sleep. Callie put on her robe and made her way to the stairs. She peered over the banister and looked quizzically at the figure below.

"Barry?" Callie asked.

"Gary" He corrected.

"Same thing. What are you doing here?" Gary smiled timidly.

"You said that you hoped we could spend some more time together." Callie frowned and shook her head slightly.

"No, Roseanne said that, and she only said that to impress Dr. Dan." She stated a tad coldly. Gary's face dropped a foot and he slowly turned. He let out a pathetic little sob and his shoulders shook a bit. Callie shriveled her nose in disgust.

"They come here, they always come here!" She muttered to herself tiredly before saying anything else.

* * *

"Forgive me for being rude but are we just adopting people now? Ray asked Callie after everyone had met up.

"That's ridiculous." Callie stated.

"Then explain him!" Ray retorted, pointing at Gary in the background.

"I tried to tell him to go away but then he just turned around and made their weird sobbing noise like this-" Callie began imitating the nose Gary had made before.

"But he looks mad!" Ray protested.

"He is mad." Callie agreed.

"Then why are we letting him play with us?" Ray asked.

"Did you not hear me imitate his cry?" Callie asked.

"Why don't we just give him a chance?" Will asked sympathetically. Lucy smiled and nodded enthusiastically.

"I agree! I mean, just look at how good it turned out when Will joined our group." She said with a quickly longing glance at Will.

"Anyway," Callie continued, pretending not to notice Lucy's dopey looks at Will. "just give him a chance, or I'll imitate his cry until none of you can stand it." She threatened.

"If you insist." Ray said finally.

"Harry, come over here!" Callie called over her shoulder to Gary.

"It's Gary." He corrected as he slowly walked over.

"Whatever you say." Callie said "This is Ray, Will, and Lucy. And guys, this is Harry."

"Gary" He corrected again.

"What he said." Callie corrected herself.

"Hello." Will, Ray, and Lucy said

"Hi…you people." Gary said with a very strained friendly tone. As Gary spoke the other three children created individual perplexed looks towards the boy.

"Now anyway, you'll never guess what I've got hidden in the stables. Come on and I'll show you." Callie could barely contain her delight as she motioned for them to follow her.

"So how long have you known Callie?" Gary asked Will casually as they were walking.

"About three and a half years by now."

"Would you say you're her best friend?"

Will thought for a moment and shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't know, we're all good friends. Why do you ask?" Will asked.

"I just want to know who my competition is." Gary said simply. Will immediately shot him a stunned looked, wondering if he had heard him correctly.

They finally reached the stable and Callie looked over at them with a coy smile. Will glanced for a second at Gary to find that he too had a smile on his face, although most likely for a different reason.

"Lucy and Gentlemen, may introduce you to…" Callie abruptly flung open the barn doors to revel an enormous black stallion standing before them.

"Argento" Callie introduced the horse to her peers. "My Father bought him from a Spaniard." Callie walked up to the magnificent creature. Compared to it she looked as if he would swallow her whole.

"Annie wanted to name him 'Clip-Clop'". Callie said with a disgusted tone. "The nerve of some people to try to give such fantastic animals the most ridiculous names possible. If she thinks any horse of mine is going to be called Cli-"

"Your horse?" Will intercepted quickly, only to be interrupted himself with a harsh "sh" from Gary.

"Callie's talking!" He hissed.

"Yeah, it's mine!" Callie said, answering excitedly to Will's response and completely ignored Gary's.

"Your Father bought you that horse?" Will asked again, trying to ignore the daggers Gary was staring at him.

"Well, not exactly…" Callie said, calming herself down a bit. "It is my horse, my Father just doesn't know it yet." She said as she brushed her hand across the horse's jet black hair.

"Cal, that-" Ray started before noticing the sinister look Gary was giving him for calling Callie by the short version of her name. Ray fidgeted nervously for a moment and continued.

"That horse is going to buck you off the minute you get on it!" Ray said, recovering his sentence quickly. Callie smiled her signature smile at them all.

"That's where you guys come in."

* * *

**AN: Sorry for the delay, school is murder these days. This was supposed to be one chapter but I was already up to about eight pages so I figured I'd better cut it in half. If school is willing to behave I'd like to have the second part to this chapter and another one up before christmas; since it's going to be set during christmas time, but I can't make any promises. **


	36. The replacement, Gary part 2

Callie had a rope tied around her waist and a boot tied to the other end of the rope.

"What's that for?" Ray gestured to the boot.

"So it's easier to throw it over that beam up there." Callie pointed up over their heads to the beam sitting right above them. It took her a few throws for her to actually get it over the beam. The first try resulted in the boot nearly hitting Lucy, and the fourth throw resulted in the boot landing roughly on Ray's head, causing him to loose consciousness for a couple of moments. It was the sixth throw that Callie finally got the boot to go over the beam and drop heavily onto the floor again. Then she hastily untied the rope from the boot and tossed it in front of the four other children.

"Understand what we're doing now?" Callie asked them.

She turned and walked towards Argento; all saddled and ready. She looked up then quickly dashed off to the side. She returned moments later with a wooden crate. She set it down in front of the horse and stepped up on it. Even with the extra twelve inches Callie was still unable to see over the saddle, in fact she was hardly able to reach the horn on the saddle. Plus she has to uncomfortably hike up her leg to fit her foot into the stirrup.

She hopped around a bit as she tried to throw herself onto the horse. A couple of minutes of that caused Will to step onto the crate himself and offer his intertwined hands as assistance. Callie however slapped them away without as much as a single glance at him. Will rolled his eyes and walked back to the others, and then he got another idea. He smiled at Ray and Lucy and picked up the rope.

Callie continued to hop up a couple more times before she felt the rope around her waist tighten and actually start to slightly lift her. Callie quickly looked over her shoulder and saw Will, Ray, and Lucy holding the rope with smug smiles on their faces. She glared slightly and stood still. Within seconds they pulled on the rope and assisted her as she hoisted herself finally on top of the horse. Callie breathed out happily and slowly started on the horse.

It was only a few feet before the horse snorted angrily and reared up on its hind legs, throwing her off instantly. Callie hit the floor too fast for the others to react with the rope. She groaned loudly and picked herself up.

"Gotta be faster than that people." She groaned again as she brushed dust off of her.

"Are you alright?" Will asked as they helped her re-mount Argento.

"The fall hurt like no tomorrow but it's all for the cause. " Callie said simply as she took off again. Over the next two hours, Callie had accumulated over fifteen future bruises and cuts, along with thirty avoided injuries due to the four holding the rope behind her.

"I think we can take the rope off now." Callie groaned as the tied rope loosened and fell limply along her hips.

"But Cal," Ray started, noticing another glare from Gary directed at him. "It still flings you off every thirty-seconds!" Ray pointed out nervously.

"Not to worry, " Callie began as she pulled on the rope, causing it to unravel from around her.

"I've got a plan." She stated.

"Which is?" Lucy asked.

"We're going to will it not to throw me off." Callie said concentrating on the back of Argento's head.

"Oh mercy! Are you serious?" Lucy cried. "That won't work!"

"Have you ever tried it?" Callie inquired.

"No"

"Then how do you know it doesn't work?"

"Because it's just not logical." Will protested.

"Shut up and will!" Callie snapped. She took a quick reassuring breath before taking off again. Not two minutes later Argento bucked, sending Callie tumbling off his back onto the ground. She rolled a couple of times and finally stopped on her back. She looked up and saw them all looking down at her.

"Somebody's not willing." She explained as she got up. "Everybody involved has to will."

"I was willing!" Gary interjected quickly, receiving odd looks from the other three children.

Callie walked up to the horse, realizing that she would probably need rope or some hands on assistance to get her back on the horse. Callie sighed heavily, "Let's just pack it in for the day, you can go home." Callie said, slightly disappointed in not being able to train the horse in one day. Everyone looked amongst each other quizzically.

"Is this a trap?" Will asked.

"No, it's not a trap just go home. This just won't work unless everyone is dedicated to this." Callie said, emotionless as possible.

"We're training you're horse Callie, excuse us if we're not putting our heart and soul into this." Will said defensively.

"It's fine, just go." Callie repeated, not even facing them anymore. They all shrugged amongst each other and started to leave, all except Gary.

"You know Callie; horse-training is very tricky business. It takes a lot of time and a lot of positive energy, which I'm sure you've noticed, wasn't present today."

Callie slowly turned around and faced Gary with a new interested look on her face.

"What are you suggesting?" Callie asked.

"I think you know."

* * *

"What do you mean you don't need us anymore?" Ray asked the next day.

"You guys simply have too much negative energy which bad for training horses." Callie answered simply.

"What? That is a completely- Oh I get it." Will said, laughing a bit. "You want to spend time with your new lover."

Callie choked on her own saliva, "Lover? No, no, Mary's helping me."

"His name is Gary, and he's crazy! He's completely obsessed with you!" Will cried.

"And that makes him crazy?" Callie asked.

"No, but he's really mad! I mean it; I wouldn't be surprised if he lit a couple of fire and then danced around you a bit." Will looked over Callie's shoulder and saw Gary standing at a 45 degree angle behind her.

"Look he's smelling your hair right now!" Callie quickly looked over her shoulder and saw Gary standing awkwardly, but at a straight angle.

"Come on you guys." Callie started.

"He actually was Cal, Lucy and I saw him as well." Ray interjected.  
"Please, you guys are lying so much that I believe you."

"That doesn't make any sense." Will said angrily.

"It wouldn't to you guys, you're negative!" Callie said before stomping off.

"Well, now we know madness is contagious." Lucy stated as they watched their friend walk away.

"More like it's able to get worse." Ray corrected. They walked a bit, heading in the direction of the willow trees that surrounded Callie's house. Callie and Gary were still visible in the distance; Will could see them when he momentarily glanced over his shoulder. He smiled slyly and abruptly stopped. Ray and Lucy soon followed suite.

"What's the matter?" Lucy asked.

"Let's just watch." Will said, "I'd like to see how successful horse training is without negative energy."

* * *

"So, shall we get started?" Callie asked Gary as she climbed from the tall fence to Argento's back.

"Of course." Gary answered.

"Remember to will." Callie reminded him.

"Maybe we should use a different word than 'will'." Gary suggested.

"Why?" She asked.

"Because I don't like that word."

"What's the matter with 'will'?" Callie asked, although within moments she knew the answer to her own question.

"You don't like Will." Callie stated. Gary's eyes narrowed just at the mention of the name. Callie abruptly laughed.

"Do you know you're eyes get really squinty when I say Will?" Callie asked, Gary narrowed his eyes again causing Callie to giggle in delight.

"You just did it again! I said Will and you squinted!" Almost as if it was a reflex, Gary's eyes did it again.

"Stop it." Gary stated. Callie chuckled and quickly dismounted from the horse.

"Forget riding, this is way more fun. Will, Will, Willy, Willy, Willy, Will, Willlllllll," Callie taunted.

* * *

"What in the world is going on down there?" Lucy said as they watched the conversation from the security of the willow trees.

"I don't know, I might just sneak down and see if everything's alright." Will said as he got up and swiftly made his way down the hill

* * *

"Stop it or I'll make you stop it!" Gary roared. This abruptly caused Callie's teasing to cease and an angry scowl to plant itself across her face.

"I would love to see you try." Callie sternly said, almost challenging him. Gary stood perfectly still, almost frozen. Callie looked at him expectantly for a moment then snickered to herself.

"That's what I thought. Get out of my way." Callie ordered as she shoved him to the side so she could walk up to her house. He landed harshly in the long grass and picked himself up angrily. He took off after her, and was just a grasp away from her before something came out of nowhere and knocked him off his feet.

Callie heard Gary's loud 'ommph' and whirled around to see Gary on the ground, pinned by Will. In an attempt to free himself Gary reached up and grabbed some of the semi-long tresses at the nape of Will's neck. Will yelled out a bit in pain before bringing his knee heavily into Gary's stomach, causing another painful gust of air to escape from him, and held his knee there until Gary let go of his hair.

"Let me up! Please let me up! You're too heavy!" Gary pleaded. Lucky for Gary that Will was so merciful, he got off Gary without another second going by.

"Just get out of here, and don't come back!" Will ordered as he released Gary and watched him take off like the coward he was.

Will stood up himself and looked to Callie. They didn't speak for a couple of moments until Callie broke the silence.

"What? Are you expecting applause or something?" Callie lightly tapped her fingers into the other hand's palm. "Congratulations you just fought somebody that was hastily shoved to the ground not ten seconds ago by a girl. Or maybe, Good for you! You're mediocre in the strength department!"

Will laughed out loud at her over-exaggerated sarcasm. "I saved you, admit it." Will said. Callie scoffed.

"You did not. I had everything under control."

"I did save you! I did, that guy was a lunatic!" Will argued.

"You saved me from a dirty hand print on my back! Hardly life threatening."

"Hey I fought the guy to protect you from that hand print."

"That was hardly a fight, you're not even bleeding." Callie criticized.

"He was pulling my hair pretty hard back there!" Will defended himself. Callie let out a fake gasp.

"Oh no! Don't tell me he pulled one of those pretty little hairs out of your head!" Callie hastily grabbed Will and pulled his head down to inspect his neck.

"Oh he did!" Callie poked a sharp finger at a place along Will's hairline. "Why! Why it and not me!" She cried.

"Get away from me." Will laughed as he pulled himself away from her grip, seeing her still fake crying as he wiped his hair out of his face.

"I saved you." Will stated again.

"Nope." Callie answered.

"Yes I did."

"No you didn't."

"Did"

"Didn't- Oh hey look its Ray and Lucy!" Callie cried as she ran off towards them, leaving Will and their argument behind.

* * *

Six Days Later…

Callie was outside riding Argento gracefully all over the yard, with absolutely no complaints from the horse. On the fence sat Will, Ray, and Lucy, who were resting after a long day's work.

"Told you it wasn't negativity keeping you from riding it!" Ray called out to her.

"Oh it was." Callie stated as she steered the horse towards them.

"In case you haven't noticed, there's no more negativity here. Horse senses it, and allows me to ride him. Scary thing, huh? To know that an animal knows more about us than ourselves." Callie laughed a bit and took off again.

"Hate to see what else they know." Will said.

* * *

**A/N: Yeah I didn't get the two updates that I wanted, but nobody's perfect. Next one should be interesting, it involves Callie getting a temp governess named Sandra Snow and Will and Ray compete for her attention. **


	37. Introducing the flawless Sandra Snow

Anita sat at the worn arm chair set in the corner of her bedroom and flipped through her old journals, some that were dated back to when she was roughly Evelyn's age. At the moment she was fondly reading over the parts that included the summer when she first met Inman; how they met, the time the spent together, how he left, and then returned. Her pleasant memories were soon interrupted though by a sudden knock at the door.

"Come in." Anita breathed, a bit irritated at whoever was behind the door. She saw the doorknob turn sharply and Bethany appeared. Her face was completely caked in mud, and although Anita couldn't really see it, an unhappy expression inhabiting her face.

"Does it make you feel any better if I tell you _I'm_ sorry?" Anita asked.

"I need a holiday." The woman stated bluntly. "Since that child was born I have shown complete and utter patience, and may I be frank, restraint from wringing her little neck! But now after ten years, almost every day after day with her I can sincerely say that if I don't get some time to myself I fear for my sanity-!"

Anita chuckled a bit and held up her hand, telling Bethany to stop. She looked up at Bethany with kind eyes that completely understood where she was coming from.

"Take some time off. Enjoy some time with Ian and the boys, whom you've had to put second for so long-which by the way we're very grateful for." Anita added with a nervous laugh. "Take as much time as you need."

"Thank-you" Bethany's lips mouthed under the multiple layers of mud, and with that she left the room as silently as she had entered. She pulled out a handkerchief out of her bodice and began to wipe the mud away from her face. If she hadn't heard her tromping up the stairs Bethany wouldn't have realized that Callie was walking right by her. She looked down and saw Callie sporting similar mud smears on her face and sleeves. If this was an ordinary day Bethany would have thrown a fit and ordered her immediately into the tub. However this was not an ordinary day. This allowed Bethany to instead laugh heartily at her, continue her happy stroll out of the Caldwell home, and leave Callie behind with nothing but a blank idea of what was so funny.

As if on cue, Inman came up the stairs towards his bedroom. He tapped at the door a few times; out of politeness for his wife.

"Anita?" He asked through the door before reaching for the doorknob. Out of the corner of his eye he saw his daughter.

"I saw the side of the house Callie." Irritation was evident in his voice. "If I were you I'd wash up before I'm forced to spray down two muddy things on this property." He advised her before entering the room.

Anita had tried to return to reading her journals when her husband's deep voice sounded behind the door. He entered quickly and looked at her with a tired gaze.

"I passed Bethany at the front door. You gave her some time off, did you?" Anita nodded.

"She told you, I take it?"

"No but she did skip past me singing 'no Callie for three weeks, no Callie for three weeks.' " Inman did his best at a shrill impression of Bethany. "Naturally I put two and two together." He sat down on the bed across from her chair and placed a hand gently on her knee.

"I do love your kindness, my dear, but sometimes I fear you are too kind." Anita looked up to see him staring sincerely at her.

"Inman she hasn't taken a real holiday in four years. You can't argue that she doesn't deserve it." Anita said, her tone scolding Inman for his previous comment.

"No argument there, but I do wish you would have told her to wait until we had found a temporary replacement. That itself takes at least a week to find!"

Anita's knowing smile was immediately lost at the realization.

"Well, I guess we should get looking. My name book is on the shelf over there, could you get it please?" She asked her husband. He retrieved it quickly and handed it to her.

"Hmmm, let's see now…" Anita flipped through the pages before firmly placing her fore-finger on a name.

"Alice Banner?" She proposed. Inman groaned loudly.

"That woman gives me a bad feeling in the put of my pocket."

"What do you mean?" Anita finally looked up at him from the book.

"She costs more than a pretty penny, that's all I'm saying."

"She wasn't that unreasonable…" Anita argued.

"But you forget she lives in Charleston. How much do you think she's going to ask for, for her to come down, and on short notice none the less?" Inman pointed out.

"Alright, fair enough, not her." Anita flipped through more pages. Inman took a seat on the armrest as he looked over her shoulder at the names. Once she hit the right page he reached over her shoulder and pointed at a name.

"That's more like it. Marianne Monroe. She lives in town, she's great with Callie, she's of a reasonable rate-"

"We're not getting Marianne." Anita snapped, looking at Inman over her shoulder.

"Why not?" Inman asked.

"What kind of a woman lets a child eat thirty-seven sugar cubes for supper? I was one hyperactive scream away from using your belt to strap her into bed that night!" Anita interjected.

"I liked her!" They heard a muffled voice from outside their room. Inman got up from his seat and walked to the opposite wall of their room.

"Callie, just because you can hear us through the walls sometimes doesn't mean you should purposely eavesdrop." Inman scolded at the wall.

"I'm just saying!" A muffled voice stated before going silent again.

"Alright, so not Mrs. Monroe." Inman turned back to Anita.

The contemplated all the possibilities for a replacement of Bethany, and by the end of the day had written and sent out three urgent messages. One to Mrs. Jane Wilkins, one to Mrs. Anne Snow; who both lived in Charleston, and one to Mrs. Pearl Adamson; who lived in town. The next day they received a response from Mrs. Adamson who had stated that she would be happy to help them in their time of need however their pig had fallen deathly ill and needed all of her time and attention. It would have been a perfectly fine excuse save that the Adamson's haven't raised any pigs since their last son was married eight years ago.

Then impressively the day after that, they received a response from Mrs. Wilkins, who unfortunately was unable to take the job because she had a champion stallion that had fallen deathly ill and needed all of her time and attention. A response from Mrs. Snow was never received.

"She could have at least written back with a hack excuse like the others." Inman stated.

What they didn't expect was that just three days after they had sent the letters, an unexpected visitor came to their doorstep. Will was visiting that morning, it was Easter Sunday and the Caldwell family was hosting a big breakfast. In good nature they invited Will and his uncles to join them. While Uncle Tim and Gavin felt no need to join in, they allowed Will to do so since they were keeping no special plans.

Lucy was with her family, of course, while Callie, Ray, and Will enjoyed the festivities at Callie's house. Moreover, Ray and Will waited around on the porch and in the house; doing odd tasks to help everyone out with the breakfast while Callie was "being a pest" as Stephen; the cook, would have put it. She occupied her time with sneaking around the kitchen, snatching whatever little bits of the meal she could get.

A polite knock came at the door, while Ray and Will were taking silverware and napkins to put onto the table outside. They looked at each other, not knowing whether they should answer it or not. Usually that was Bethany's job; however since she was away it was an every man for himself job. Seeing as though it was rude to make someone wait too long outside the door, the two boys quickly placed the items in their arms on a nearby table and made their way to the door. Since Ray shared the same last name, he did the honors of actually opening the Caldwell's door, and as if they were struck by lightening they both stared up in awe at the woman standing before them. The light shining behind her was real, but the two boys were pretty sure that the doves flying and the fireworks blowing up all around was just a figment of their imagination.

The woman smiled down at them, and what a glorious smile it was they thought to themselves. She laughed lightly and bent down as to look them in the eye.

"Would you two gentlemen be so kind as to inform Mr. and Mrs. Caldwell that Sandra Snow has arrived?"

* * *

**A/N: Sorry! I'm doing it again, the next half of this chapter should be up pretty soon. I just kept writing and before I realized it I was five pages in and hadn't gotten to the meaty part of the chapter. My bad, but hope you all enjoy anyway!**


	38. A series of questionable objectives

Stephen raised his wooden spoon and thrust it down upon Callie's hand.

"Miss Callie if I have to turn around and see you're dirty little fingers on the food again I'll put you in this pot and cook you for breakfast!"

"That wouldn't work," Callie shook and rubbed the pain out of her hand. "We all know I'm rotten." She sneered and ran out of the kitchen, nearly knocking her just entering father over in the process.

"Callie, please do be careful!"

From behind her back she brought out a biscuit that she had expertly swiped when Stephen wasn't looking. She stuffed it into her mouth without a moments thought. She was just passing by when she noticed that the front door was open, with Ray, Will, and a woman she did not recognize standing at the door.

"Who's that?" she muttered with her mouth full. Sandra smiled and extended her hand towards her.

"You must be little Callie Caldwell!" She exclaimed. Callie swallowed the contents in her mouth and her eyes widened.  
"You're new at this aren't you?" Callie asked, she couldn't help the smile spreading across her lips.

"Yes, I am. I've heard an awful lot about you." Sandra continued. Callie put a hand on her chest, over-acting the image of being flattered.

"I'm famous!" She said to the smitten boys. Sandra laughed,

"They say you're vicious!" She said with a friendly skeptical tone.

"Oh stop! Before you make me blush!" Callie turned her face away. Sandra laughed again in delight.

"Could you tell your parents that I'm here?"

"Okay- Ma! Fa! Stranger at the door!" She roared over her shoulder. "There you go." Callie said before making her way back to the kitchen. Simultaneously Inman and Anita came out of the kitchen and approached Sandra together.

"Hello there!" Anita greeted as she curtsied politely; Sandra followed suit.  
"I'm Inman Caldwell and this is my wife, Anita Caldwell." Inman introduced as he bowed to her. Only then did he notice the two boys still standing in front of the door.

"At ease boys." Inman chuckled as he gently pushed them away from the door, their mouths still ajar.

"So Miss Snow, forgive me but we sent that letter your…mother-I'm guessing?" Anita began.

"Yes, well the last time my mother had the honor of caring for the Caldwell girls she began to suffer what the doctor called hyper-anxiety and paranoia. She asked me to go in her stead." Sandra explained.

"Oh, I am sorry about your mother." Anita said, Inman and her snuck a quick guilty glance at each other.

"No need, she's doing fine and I'm here; ready to work." Sandra shook off their grief.

A loud crash came from the kitchen and Callie raced out.

"I didn't do it!" She cried as she made her way out of sight. Both parents turned nervously from their daughter back to Sandra; who surprisingly didn't seem to have the slightest bit of worry.  
"Are you sure you can handle it?" Inman asked her. She nodded.

"Not a doubt in my mind." Inman and Anita looked at each other for a moment, wordlessly coming to an agreement. They smiled and looked back to her.

"You're hired!" They exclaimed at the same time.

* * *

They had stationed Sandra's sleeping quarters near the back of the house, in the same hallway as Inman's office. It was a modest room; however she accepted it without as much as a word of protest. While she had only been there a few days, she was very true to her word. She was more than capable of handling Callie. It seemed as if Callie couldn't pull through with anything mischievous as long as Sandra was around. This obviously put an enormous toll on Callie's patience. 

Callie was pacing about her room, huffing angrily when Lucy entered. Callie had just finished one pace with her back facing Lucy, before whirling around and finally acknowledging her presence.

"Why are you alone?" She asked. "Where are the other two?"

"Where do you think? They're downstairs being 'Sandra's little helpers.'" Lucy quoted bitterly. "They've been here since seven this morning apparently." She added.

"What? Well why haven't I noticed that they were here?" Callie began to pace again.

"Maybe because you were so busy doing this?" Callie abruptly stopped and raised her brow at her, for it was the first real cheeky remark she had ever heard from Lucy. Lucy ignored her look.

"I don't know what's the matter with them."

"They're in love with the lovely Sandra Snow." Callie said with a fake dreamy tone, then a gagging noise to follow.

"I don't get it though! She's not that lovely. She's got hideously red hair and green eyes. She looks like Christmas!"

Callie whipped her gaze at Lucy whilst she talked in such ironic terms. Lucy realized what she was saying before adding "-But it looks good on you Callie." Callie rolled her hers at her friend.

"Let's go get those dim boys."

Silently the two girls made their way out of the room and crept to the banister. Through the wooden poles they peered over the edge. They could see Sandra dusting the window ledges and the different trinkets on the various side tables. Will and Ray of courses were standing at her side, both helpfully dusting.

"You two are just so great! Honestly I've never met two boys who would do chores so voluntarily." Sandra went on as they worked. "I'll be right back; I'll just shake these rags out." She politely took the rags out of the boys' hands.

"I can help you!" Ray offered eagerly.

"I can help him help you!" Will was determined not to be outdone by Ray.

"Oh well aren't you boys nice. But I can do this on my own." Sandra flashed another sweet smile down at the boys, causing them to blush like mad.

"I'll be right back." She said as she left through the front door.

"Okay" The two boys said at the same time.

"Well that was painfully embarrassing to watch." A sudden familiar voice from behind them caused the boys to snap out of their love stricken daze.

"We don't know what you're talking about." Ray said casually, Will nodded in agreement. Their act however was soon interrupted by Callie's loud laughter and scoffing.

"Oh please! 'Why Miss Sandra, I'd be honored to lick your shoes! Miss Sandra, perhaps the both of us should just wear one of your many pretty dresses since we're acting like enormous girls!'" Callie skipped down the stairs. Lucy was laughing hysterically while Ray and Will scowled at her. Sandra entered soon enough with the freshly patted dust rags and Callie no longer had the boys' attention. Sandra re-distributed the rags to them and they offered a shy thank-you to her.

"They say on the island booga-booga that giving a man a dust rag is as good as a marriage proposal!" Callie muttered to the boys under her breath. Sandra gave Callie a curious look, she couldn't help but hear her comment.

"Miss Caldwell, I would offer you a rag to help but I wouldn't want you to think that I'm too forward." Her smile was so sweet Callie was certain she would receive a tooth ache in moments. The boys erupted with laughter, Callie gave them her own scowl.

"You're right, I prefer to have dinner first. " She turned and stomped back up the stairs; Lucy followed closely behind, leaving Sandra and her happy helpers by themselves downstairs.

* * *

Three more days passed and besides Callie's efforts to get the better of Sandra, she always seemed to be at least three steps ahead of Callie. No doubt because of the new spying imps she had acquired while working here. One morning Callie stormed into her bedroom and slammed the door to keep out the uproarious laughter from downstairs. Her head and shoulders were covered in porridge. Fuming she went to her window sill and began pulling and squeezing the yellow ooze from her hair and throwing it angrily out the window. Since the people downstairs saw fit to laugh at her misfortune she saw fit to let the still warm food splatter on the side of the house, the porch roof, and flower beds below. 

"She thinks she's so smart but she's only smart because of her two little minions spying on me. Traitors!" She spat between tosses of porridge. A light tap came at her door.

"No" Callie said, still picking at herself. The light tap came again. "No!" She repeated; more irritated this time. Whoever was behind the door ignored her wishes and entered anyway. Much to Callie's dismay Sandra stuck her snobby head in.

"I've come to apologize and help you clean up." She said, regret evident in her voice. Callie wiped another clump of porridge off her shoulder and shook it off outside.

"What are you talking about? I'm clean!" Callie's cool stature was interrupted when a glob of goop in Callie's hair that she'd missed fell and landed right in between her eyes. Sandra giggled at the young girl and came towards her with a porcelain bowl filled with hot water and a clean rag sitting at the edge.

"Let me help." She said and adjusted Callie's seating so she was easily in her reach.

"Well you got most of the little bits out…" Sandra began as she lightly ran her fingers in her hair. She reached for Callie's hairbrush. "I'll clean this out for you later." Sandra stated and lightly ran the brush through the gooey strands, getting the last chunks from her hair.

"This could've been avoided had you just not have been mischievous for once." Sandra felt she had to inform her. "And I didn't push that door on purpose. Had I known that bucket was there I wouldn't have touched it at all." Sandra defended herself in what had happened earlier.

"If you weren't so intolerable I wouldn't have to try to get you." Callie muttered.

"What?"

"Nothing" She answered.

A long period of silence took over as Sandra brushed Callie's hair and cleaned her face. The only bit of conversation was Callie throwing a tantrum when Sandra pulled too hard on a knot in her hair or touched Callie with the wet rag when it was too hot.

"Callie, sweetie…" Sandra spoke suddenly. Callie looked up at her.

"I don't know who this 'sweetie' is, but _I'm_ listening." Callie commented.

"Tell me, do you get along with your parents very well?" Callie frowned slightly.

"Depends on what you mean by 'get along'."

"Do you…enjoy your parents company? Do you appreciate one another?" Sandra chose her words carefully as to make it understandable to the young child. Callie smirked to herself.

"Well they haven't sent me to France yet to be reformed by my Grandmother. I appreciate that!"

"Do you get along with them?" She presses again.

"Well I really get along well with my father, he's great! My mother…." Callie trailed off. "We don't understand each other very well."

"Why?" Sandra asked. Callie shrugged.

"Our interests differ, that's all. She blames my poor father sometimes, saying he treats me too much like a companion instead of a daughter. She says he talks to me about stuff he shouldn't be. Teaching me stuff he shouldn't be teaching me. 'Gives her ideas.'" Callie said, not being able to hide the hint of resentment in her voice.

"How well do your parents get along?" Sandra seemed to be full of questions today.

"They fight a lot." Callie said casually. "But that's natural in our family. You should see my grandparents." Callie added in fear that she had given her the wrong idea about her parents.

"What do they fight about?"

"Why do you care so much?" Callie looked suspiciously at her.

"I hear things, I hear them…" Sandra trailed off.

"Mostly about him being away," Callie started again, now very careful of what she gave away. "He's a sea captain." She added proudly.

"Yes I know." Sandra says in a tone that Callie could not identify.

"They sometimes argue about my grandparents; how they're always here, and me of course!" Callie let out a hearty laugh at herself.

"How about when they're not arguing, are they happy?"

Callie blinked a couple of times, thinking of the proper answer.

"Are they happy with each other?" Sandra rephrases her question, mistaking Callie's silence for misunderstanding of the question.

"They went to the carpenters yesterday to buy chairs for the porch together last week." Callie offered. "That says love to me."

Sandra looked at her strangely again. A look that Callie could not interpret, no matter how hard she thought about it.

"They're happy." Callie said in reassurance to Sandra and even a bit to herself. She had never questioned her parent's relationship before, but now it caused her to give some attention to the matter. That made her a tad nervous.

"I would know," Callie shuddered, she knew she had to say it, if she wanted to end Sandra's questioning. She forced her lips to say it. "I can sometimes hear them through the wall."

* * *

The next day Callie and Lucy had snuck into Roseanne's room to see if there were any love letters from Dr. Dan to read. As delicately as they could they fingered through Roseanne's things so they wouldn't leave any room for suspicion when Roseanne returned. Out of Roseanne's window they could see Sandra's trained monkeys fulfilling today's chore; cleaning the rugs. They had them strung over a clothesline and the three of them were banging mercilessly at the thing. Sandra said something and walked away. Will started to follow however Ray came up behind him and hit him in the back of the knees with the swatter he had used to bat the rug. Will fell forward in pain, allowing Ray to get ahead of him. As war would have it, before he could get too far Will reached out and grabbed Ray's ankle, causing him to fall as well. The boys followed that trend until Sandra had returned in front of them holding a tray with three glasses of cider on them. 

"Oh, you silly boys!" The girls heard Sandra say through the window.

"They might as well find a dead bird and plop it down by her feet since she's treating them like dogs." Callie said bitterly. "I don't trust her, there's something odd about her. Just yesterday she kept drilling me about my parents and I for no apparent reason."

"What could she possibly gain from asking those types of questions?" Lucy asked.

"No clue, but whatever the reason I'm not giving her any more information." Callie declared as she rifled through a few drawers of Roseanne's bureau. Lucy nodded at her.

"Good idea." Lucy looked over Roseanne's bedside table, "Callie I don't think we're going to find anything. Either she doesn't have any or knows you'd come looking for them and has hidden them very well."

Callie sighed loudly; it was the one thing that was guaranteed to brighten her day.

"Fine, let's just read Eve's journal. She's more daft about hiding things."

Within moments Callie and Lucy had Evelyn's journal in the possession and were huddled secretively in the back hall having a good laugh.

"'Travis Mackenzie is so handsome!'" Callie read aloud, choking on her laughter.

"It doesn't say that!" Lucy exclaimed, surprised to hear her brother's name mentioned.

"Don't believe me? See for yourself!" Callie showed her the script in the journal. "You'll love this, 'I saw him outside tending horses…'" Callie trailed off, snickering again. "…'I wish he'd take me away on one of those horses!'" Both Callie and Lucy broke into hoarse fits of laughter.

"I think it's time to play matchmaker again." Callie said through her giggles.

"My parents would love that, being connected to you by martial law." Lucy said, nudging Callie playfully. From down the hall they heard a knock.

"Mr. Caldwell?" A voice said. Quietly Callie and Lucy peered around the corner and saw Sandra listening into the closed door of Inman's study. He had said earlier that he was going into town, but obviously she did not get that message. Even though no one was authorized to enter his study without his permission, Sandra looked about quickly before letting herself in. Callie dropped her mouth in outrage.

_Who does she think she is? _Callie thought to herself. She stomped on with the intention of ordering her out of her father's study. She stopped in front of the open doorway for a moment before hurriedly moving to the side of it. She waved Lucy over and pointed into the room. Both girls peered into the room to see Sandra at the wardrobe, her back towards them. The wardrobe was open and she was lightly touching one of Inman's fine naval coats. Callie and Lucy looked at each other curiously. Callie thought for a moment and look at her friend in horror.

_Sandra couldn't be attracted to my father, could she? _Callie thought to herself. Lucy seemed to have read her mind, for her eyes spoke the same questions.

"We should do something." Callie walked away.

"What are we going to do?" Lucy asked nervously as she took off after her.

Outside Will and Ray were still beating the rug senseless, trying to outdo each other in the strength department.

"You guys, I have something to tell you!" Callie said urgently as she approached them. They boys spared her a single glance each but continued to beat the rug.

"Would you mind giving me your attention?" Callie was visibly getting angrier.

"Tell us while we're beating." Ray said, not even looking at her.

"Fine then," Callie huffed. "I think your precious Sandra Snow has her sights set on my father." Abruptly both boys stopped and finally gave her their full attention. Ray's face seemed to drop to the floor and Will looked like he had been punched in the stomach.

"That's not fair! Have you seen the man? He's six feet and has muscles on his muscles. We can't compete with that!" Ray whined. "Have you ever looked into his eyes? He's got the bluest eyes ever!"

"That's hardly the point!" Callie said, deciding to ignore Ray's strange comments about her father's looks. "The point is, is that she is interested in my _already married_ father and she may have the gal to try something!" Callie roared.

"Well don't tell us! Tell your mother! Will pointed out.

"Right…" Callie said, "Be right back!" In the blink of an eye Callie was sprinting back towards the house.

* * *

"Mother, Viviane Tutsman got a new hat last week and has been gloating about it every day since she's got it!" Annette was selling her new dilemma to her mother, who was sitting at her dresser. 

"You know I haven't had a new hat in so long so I think it's only fair that I-" The door flung open angrily, catching and throwing Annette against the wall.

"Keep the new lady away from your husband!" The urgency in Callie's voice caused Anita to whirl around. Callie was soon forgotten though when Anita caught view of Annette standing half hidden behind the door, clutching her nose and glaring daggers at Callie.

"Annie! Are you alright darling?" Anita flew from her seat and lightly lifted her daughter's hand to inspect her nose. "Well it appears to be alright, but just to be safe maybe put a cool cloth over it and we'll continue our talk later." Anita gently said, giving a wink to her as a wordless way of saying 'you've got yourself a new hat.' Annette gave a small grateful smile and swiftly left the room. Now she turned to Callie, her expression had hardened.

"Have we forgotten how to knock?" Anita asked.

"_We_ have bigger problems than my inability to knock. There is a little snake in this house trying to steal your man!"

Anita couldn't stifle her laughs, just hearing her address Inman as 'your man' was more than she could handle.

"This is serious! She was just downstairs literally sniffing around his study!" Callie pressed on. That made Anita's laughs cease, she frown at her.

"What do you make 'literally sniffing around his study'?" The slightest bit of anger or maybe even jealously was obvious in her tone.

"Last time I saw her she was downstairs caressing father's coat!" Anita's eyes widened.

"Alright then" Anita marched past her and went downstairs to find Miss Sandra. Moments later Callie exited the room, looking very pleased with herself. It was only then that she noticed Lucy, Ray, and Will standing off to the side, obviously they had been eavesdropping earlier. She opened her mouth to speak when her mother's voice from below interrupted her. The children quickly moved to the edge of the stairs; as to receive better audibility of the conversation below.

"Miss Snow, I have been recently informed of your presence in my husband's study. Perhaps he did not mention this; and I do apologize if this was not evident to you but no one is permitted entry in there unless invited. On another note, 'sniffing around' other people's property is rude to begin with!" Callie had the most gleeful smile on her face at the sound of her mother's fierce voice. Will and Ray however could not help but feel sorry for Miss Snow.

"Mrs. Caldwell, do forgive me but I believe you were misinformed," It was amazing how even though they did not speak her name Callie could hear it being spoken through other words.

"I was simply straightening up the room; Mr. Caldwell has such lovely trinkets I wouldn't want to disturb something. I was in the wrong for being in the room. For that I offer you and Mr. Caldwell my sincerest apologies. In fact once he returns I will offer it to him myself. I just thought it was a nice thing to do, since he has been so kind and has received no reward for it."

Callie looked to Lucy and drew her finger slowly away from her nose; meaning for it to look as if her nose was growing. Will nudged her in Sandra's defense.

"She's lying" Callie protested, although careful about the volume of her voice.

"That is another thing Miss Snow." Anita's voice sounded again from below. "My informant seems to believe that your attitude towards my husband," They could not see Anita's face but they could imagine the fierceness in her eyes, especially by the way she said 'my husband'.

"…has started to become inappropriate. I hate to do you the dishonor of thinking such distasteful thoughts about you; however my informant seemed very upset by something that brought on these thoughts…"

Callie had always proudly pictured her father fighting in her name, righting wrongs. But at this moment she had the image of her mother clad in shining armor atop a noble steed inhabiting her mind. The image of her mother strangling Sandra Snow mercilessly was evident in her thoughts too.

"I truly don't want to continue this subject any further. All I'll say is this, if what my informant believes is true than I must ask something of you. I know it is impossible to stop certain thoughts from surfacing, but I must command that you keep those thoughts exactly the way they are; as thoughts. " Anita emphasized strongly. "Out of respect for my family, myself, and my husband. You have been a valued worker and I do not wish for you to end your employment here on such a foul note."

"Yes ma'am" The first and only words Sandra got in during the entire rant. The sound of footsteps filled the house. Callie scoffed angrily and took off down the stairs. Her mother was in the family study, staring vacantly at the books on the shelves.

"Ma!" Callie's outrages voice caused Anita to turn around. "You were doing so well, but you didn't go in for the kill!"

"Everyone deserves a second chance, Callie. Until legitimate evidence is shown of ill behavior I really don't have a right to dismiss her." Callie's image of her valiant mother suddenly diminished.

"You are too kind for anyone's good." Callie said quietly and left before her mother could say anything back. The completely let-down face of Callie's was something that would haunt Anita for many nights to come, Anita prophesized.

Callie ignored the three expecting faces waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs and went into the kitchen alone. A pile of recently cleaned and shaven carrots lay on a cutting board next to the stove. Callie grabbed one and started to absent-mindedly nibble as she thought of the previous events just moments ago.

"You're very foolish you know that? I was willing to feed off of it mercilessly before but now it's making the game too easy. " Callie snapped her gaze upwards to see Sandra standing at the back door leading to the yard with a basket of laundry under her arm. "To make this a little more fair, child, don't go informing your mother anymore of what I do in this house." Sandra gracefully strode from the back door to the entrance way from the kitchen to the rest of the house.

"Where are my helpers?" Her tone went impressively fast from dead serious to light and carefree; that tone Callie realized was a complete act. Callie could hear Will and Ray's pitter-patter of eager footsteps coming closer and her blood felt poisoned with hate. Sandra turned to Callie once more, a smile creeping across her lips.

"Or perhaps you actually wish to worsen the problems coming to your father in the very near future?"

She had barely managed to spit her threat out before Will and Ray were at her side, eager and dough-eyed. With a flick of her hair she turned and led the boys of the kitchen, leaving Callie to stare dumbly after her.

* * *

**A/N: A new idea of how to continue with Sandra struck me suddenly, i figured it was time for another intense moment/adventure to occur. Tell me what you think, or better yet what you think Sandra's objective is. It's a pretty good one, if i do say so myself. Just a hint; it's not a completely black and white problem as described in the chapter.**


	39. The proposition

Will approached the Caldwell home at five am that morning. He had strategically done that so he would he would beat Ray and have at least a few moments with Miss Sandra by himself. Although much to Will's dismay as he came closer to the house he saw Ray come running towards him. In his mind Will groaned in disappointment, angry with himself that he had not outsmarted him.

"Callie's gone." Ray said as soon as he reached him. Will frowned, unsure if he had heard him correctly.

"What?"

"Aunt Anita left and took Callie and her sisters with her." Will's mouth dropped open.

"She left in the middle of the night so no one would see them." Ray further explained.

"But, why?" Was all Will could manage to spit out.

"Miss Snow told Aunt Anita she loved Uncle Inman. She said that they had met years ago and she showed her letters that Aunt Anita had written to him over the years, unopened." Will's heart felt as if it had sunk into his stomach.

"It can't be true, could it?" Will begged Ray for more answers.

"Aunt Anita seems to think so." Ray's solemn voice said.

"Oh god, oh god!" Will couldn't believe what he was hearing. "How do you know all this?"

"He was over this morning, talking to my grandparents. I've never seen him like that before in my life. He looked absolutely heartbroken."

"Then it can't be true... What Miss Sandra said can't be true. If Inman was so heartbroken as to their absence, then he must have loved them enough as to not dare replace with any other woman."

"I believe him, and you do, but Aunt Anita does not." Ray repeated sadly. Will quickly walked past Ray and boldly entered the Caldwell home. Out of instinct Will climbed up the stairs and made his way to Callie's room. Callie's charm was present in the room; bed was messed, clothes and toys on the floor, windows and curtains messily slung in their restraints from the windows. But there was something missing from the room. The room was cold and haunted with memories of its previous owner. The sight of the room made the truth final; Callie was gone.

* * *

Inman was sitting sadly on the porch when Will exited the house. Inman's posture was horribly slumped over, almost apelike with no life in his limbs. The sound of Will approaching caused Inman to turn a bit. 

"Forgive me for my intrusion." Will said quickly, remembering that it was not polite to enter people's homes without proper invitation. Inman acknowledged Will's apology with a shrug and quickly returned to his sulking.

"Are you alright, Mr. Caldwell?" Will said cautiously. Finally Inman fully turned to look at Will. Under his eyes were enormous red bags and a dull glint in his eyes.

"Miss Snow is not here." He said without any emotion, "My wife dismissed her yesterday."

"My concern is not of Miss Sandra, but of you, Mr. Caldwell."

"No reason for young boys to fret over old men." Inman laughed sadly, but the very manner of it showed that he had been previously crying. "Besides there's nothing you can do to help."

"I can listen," Will offered with an odd stubbornness most unlike his usual self. He sat down and looked Inman in the eye. "My mother always said talking about things was always better than holding it in. In fact, I do remember on multiple occasions you making Callie talk about her problems to you." Inman let out a sudden belch of pathetic laughter.

"You will find out later in life how hard it truly is to follow your own advice."

"I know more than you think." Will began, "My mother always lived in the fear that my father was gone forever, but she never said a word. Instead she worked, she worked every single time she felt sad, and would not stop until she was completely numb." Will paused for a moment, taking a deep breath to give his voice courage. "The work made her sick, but she kept working. Then she got worse, but she insisted that it made her healthy. She would have coughing spells, varying in the seriousness of them. I fell asleep one night to the sound of her scrubbing and occasional coughs, and then I woke up I found her on the floor. There was spilled water all around her, ice cold from being there for so long. She was cold too, but I just thought it was because of the water. I threw a blanket over her and went to get help. When help came they soon told me the news. My mother was dead; she had died in the middle of the night from a fit of coughs. I never even knew what she was holding back until I came across her old journals, and read about her pain."

Inman put a strong hand on his shoulder and gripped it in sympathy. Will shook his head at him.

"This is not about me. What's your pain? Talk about it or let it destroy you." Inman looked at the boy and began to ponder who was the wise elder and the naïve young boy. Inman sighed loudly.

"I have never looked at another woman. Never wanted another woman, never loved another woman. Love was never what I lacked. What I lack is the ability to make the woman whom I love trust me. I made her doubt, and when there's doubt in one's love, it gets overruled.

"Mrs. Caldwell doubts you?" Will asked.  
"Yes"

"Well, what have you done to make her doubt?"

"She says I'm away so much, she doesn't' know whether or not I stay true. She says I act distant when Miss Snow is around. She says I'm too resistant to show my feelings to her!" Inman almost cried out, due to the irony of it.

"Well, what can you do to make her trust you?"

Inman shook his head sadly.

"I don't know. Lord knows she with her brother in Charleston, and that man wouldn't let me near her lest I go through him first."

"You've got to try. You can't just give up." Will tried to speak reason to the defeated older man. Inman smiled warmly for the first time.

"Thank-you for lending me for ear, you've been a most helpful shoulder to cry on. But this is something I'm afraid you can't help me with. Go on," Inman lightly pushed Will. He stood up finally but still stared intently at Inman. "Go home and spare no more worried thoughts over me. An answer to this problem is just waiting to be found." With that, Inman returned to his sulking stare leaving Will with no choice but to turn around and go home.

* * *

A loud clatter came into Will's bedroom that night. Will sat up and nervously scanned his room with wide eyes. 

"Who's-who's there? I've got a weapon!" Will made his voice deeper as to frighten the faceless intruder, who stepped in the moonlight from his window.

"Good, you get use it to flatten that loose nail on the windowsill. Darn thing snagged my coat!"

"Callie!" Will cried, "What-how did you get here?"

"I snuck a ride on a market cart, wedged between a barrel of cabbage and a cage of chickens. Hardly first-class luxury." Callie plucked a stray chicken feather from her hair and lightly blew it away.

"But why are you here? Ray said your mother took you to Charleston." Callie nodded.

"Yes, yet she did. And I left, what of it?"

"But, I mean the incident with your parents and Miss Snow-"

"Is a complete hoax, which is why I left."

"What do you mean?"

"Alright first of all, as long as anybody can remember my father hasn't so much as glanced at another woman other than my mother; on and off land. His sailors say he might as well be wearing horse blinders, is that not proof enough?" Callie huffed before sticking up two fingers. "Secondly your precious Sandy threatens me and makes the statement that things are going to get worse for him!"

Will's eyes widened, "She threatened you?"

"Yes!" Callie cried, "She's been lying through her teeth to everyone this whole time!"

"So you don't think she's after your father after all?" Will asked.

"Possibly, but who knows?"

"Where's your father? Is he at home?" Will flung the covers off himself.

"That's the first place I went, he's not there."

"Would he be with your grandparents?" Callie shook her head.

"They're not home."

"Right, your grandmother wanted to talk to your mother." Will suddenly remembered what Ray had mentioned later that day.

"Okay, let's not get upset. He's probably just out. We'll go out and look for him. Worst case scenario we go get Payne."

Will hastily dressed and they both quietly snuck down through the house. That wasn't too difficult since Uncle Tim and Gavin's snoring rattled the walls it was so loud. Once outside they both broke out into a sprint.

"So where are we going first?" Will asked between breaths.

"Home, then the taverns, and then Payne."

They skidded on the dirt road as they turned onto the road that led to Callie's house. As the house came into view a small light peered out through the front window.

"He's home!" Callie said in relief. They ran up the porch, and Will reached for the door knob when he felt Callie violently pull him down to the floor.

"Wha-?" Callie shot out a hand to cover Will's mouth. She brought a finger to her own mouth, and shushed him. Slowly Callie rose so she could see through the window, Will followed suit. They went up just enough to barely see over the window sill. In the dining room sat Inman; who was facing the window, Sandra Snow, and four strange men. Callie wouldn't have though much about it had it not been for the man on her father's right with the pistol, and the man on his left twirling a knife on the table. Callie and Will looked at each other nervously.

"Can you hear?" Callie mouthed, Will shook his head. Callie thought for a moment and motioned for him to follow her. On their hands and knees the two children crawled off the porch and swiftly made their way around to the side of the house. They approached the window that did not lock, and as quietly as she could, pushed it open. They stood perfectly still as they listened. Voices could be heard but what they were actually saying was beyond them. Callie let out an aggravated groan and hoisted herself up onto the window sill. Will hurriedly grabbed her by the arm to stop her.

"Callie, no!"

"I have to know what's going on."  
"Callie it could be dangerous!" Callie ducked into the house for a moment and came out with a vase in her hand.

"If anything goes wrong, listen for this breaking. If you hear it, run to Payne's."

"Let's go now together!" Will pleaded. "If we're wrong then we just get yelled at!"

"I'm just going to listen." Callie disappeared into the house once again.

"No! Callie, no!" Will hissed, Callie's head popped back outside.

"Listen for the vase; I'm not going to tell you again." Callie ordered before disappearing for the last time.

* * *

Lightly as she could Callie crept on the balls of her feet down the secluded hall. She rounded the corner and ahead of her she saw the light from the candles glowing from around the next corner. She crept up until she reached the last room before the corner. She steeped into the it and hid behind the door. From there she could hear the conversation crystal clear. 

"…Now Captain Caldwell. Miss Snow saw the letters in your office. Don't do us the injustice of lying to our faces. We know of your partnership with Jack Sparrow." A stern voice was saying. "We even did you the favor of getting your family out of the house, as to not make it a sextuple funeral." Callie let out a nervous puff of air before covering her mouth in a flash.

"You did it so there were no witnesses to two disgraced and dismissed supposed Lord and Admiral threatening their way back into power." Inman spat angrily. No one spoke, but their faces were twisted in anger from his comment.

* * *

Meanwhile Will's legs went numb as he crouched under the window; scared to breathe or make any noise at all lest he not hear Callie's code for help. He alternated between quick and shallow breaths to long and quiet gulps of air due to his nervousness. Not being able to stand the anxiety anymore, Will climbed into the window. 

'_I'll be able to hear Callie's vase better from in here' _Will thought to himself. As if the floor would crumble away at the slightest bit of weight, Will tip-toed to the edge of the hallway and not a step further. Looking around the corner he saw the candle light on the far wall. He decided this was good enough to hear the vase and he crouch down again; ready to get up and run if necessary.

* * *

Callie calmed herself down as she continued to listen to the conversation. 

"Alright now Caldwell, the agreement is all ready for you to sign, " A middle aged man pulled the paper towards Inman

"Tell me Archibald, how many charges of adultery were you convicted of? Was it three or four?" Inman folded his hands and looked at the man with sly interest.

"If you just sign here, under Commodore Wallace, you will be our fiftieth and last needed signature-" He continued, ignoring Inman's questions.

"I believe it was four, and of the ones we know of, two of those girls were not even of child-bearing years, were they?" Inman continued stubbornly with his questions.

"-Thus Mr. Heathrow and I will be reinstated to our former positions under the crown, and have our crimes overlooked as they should-"

"And you Rupert, of what position in the church was that man of whom you brutally attacked? Not too far up the chain I hope."

"And your warrants for familiarity and aiding of pirates goes into the fire-"

"Tell me, what did you hit him with? The money you stole from the very treasury of England?"

"That was never proven that I stole, Caldwell." Rupert snarled at him.

* * *

Callie suddenly felt a tingle in her nose. She rubbed it away, but it came back moments later. She alternated between shriveling and scrunching her nose but it didn't help at all; she had to sneeze. Knowing they'd surely hear Callie plugged her nose and held her breath.

* * *

"Inman!" Rupert roared suddenly, interrupting his colleague Archibald, "By god man if you have any sense and do not wish to be hanged you will sign the agreement! You think you're the only one whose name is on here that didn't think he had a price? All we have to do is find it." 

"My price, to you men, has already been taken away from me. You think I fear death?" Inman asked.

"Depends on whose death you are talking about. I know where your family is staying." Rupert said almost in a whisper, and took a long pause for dramatic effect. "Now I'm going to tell you kindly one last time. Sign the agreement."

"No" Inman said finally with pride. He knew there was the chance he was bluffing, and the certainty that Anita's brother lived in the most heavily guarded estate in Charleston. He was a retired judge of France, and a very paranoid one to boot. Inman knew his family was very much protected.

"Any fool who dares come near that house with murderous intentions will face the wrath of the men patrolling it at all times. Do your worst."

Callie couldn't hold it in any longer-she sneezed. Everyone in the next room stopped immediately what they were doing, looking amongst each other in surprise.

"Go look" Mr. Heathrow ordered to the two men who had been sitting nearby quietly the entire time; a short, fat, blonde man named Mr. Krueger and a huge man with a sinister black mustache curled across his face; Mr. Hitchcock.

Callie stayed stone still as she heard the loud thud of their boots come closer and closer. She did her best to flatten herself against the wall; sucked in her tummy, and turned her head to the side. Out of the crack in between the doors and the all she saw candlelight turn into the room. Knowing he would find her within moments, Callie silently stepped out from her hiding spot as the man's back was turned. She went to the hallway and dashed her way back to Will and the window. She passed an open door on the way, containing Mr. Hitchcock.

"Hey!" He roared.

Hearing the commotion Will had already ran back to the window. Only a second later Callie sprung into view, going so fast around the corner she slid and hit the far wall. Two men from before came moments later. Mr. Krueger wrapped an arm around Callie's waist, pulling her towards him.

"Get you hands off me!" Callie snarled before catching the fleshy part of his hand between her teeth. Mr. Krueger cried out in pain but didn't loosen his grip the least bit. With his other hand he gripped her cheeks and pulled her face roughly away.

Thankfully only Callie had noticed Will at the window, caught between the decision to getting help and helping Callie right now.

'_Run'_ Callie mouthed to him. Will stood frozen still, unable to think clearly. Callie motioned again for him to leave, begging him with her eyes. Mr. Hitchcock, who was trying to grab her legs, noticed her eyes at something behind him and finally acknowledged Will's presence.

"God damn it! There's another one!" He got up and was striding angrily at Will.

"Go! I'll be fine!" Callie cried to Will. Still having the vase clutched in her hand she threw it as best she could and hit Mr. Hitchcock at the base of his neck. It hit him with a hollow 'thunk' and shattered once it hit the floor. He looked over his shoulder with a poisonous glare.

"Go you idiot! He's getting away!" Mr. Krueger ordered as he still struggled in keeping Callie under control. As sure as that, Mr. Hitchcock turned again and Will was gone.

* * *

Will sprinted down the small path leading into the trees. He did not dare go to the main road where he'd be in plain view. Branches from trees and bushes slapped violently at him as he frantically made his way through and past them. He was bleeding and his breath was coming out in ragged pants but he did not dare slow down the tiniest bit. Not until he hit the edge of the woods, and the flat land of Martin Parish stood before him. Nothing to hide him, nothing to inhibit his possible chaser. He took a few large gulps of air to prepare himself before taking off into another sprint. If he cut through this field he'd soon be under the cover of the next patch of woods, then beyond that the town full of witnesses, then just at the end was where Payne lived. 

Just before Will could treat himself as to one thought that he would be okay, the shrill sound of a horse reached his ears. For only a second he glanced over his shoulder and saw a black steed coming towards him.

_Is that Argento? _Will though to himself before answering no. _Not even Satan himself as a horse like that._

Will had gained quite a bit of ground before the horse and its rider came after him; however the horse was blessed with much faster speed and was gaining ground quickly. The edge of the woods was in view, maybe no more than twenty yards or so. Will forced himself desperately to increase his speed. The galloping of the horse coming closer was imbedded in Will's ears and it was all he could do not to let his knees turn to jelly and collapse onto the ground. He glanced again over his shoulder. He could now recognize the rider as the man from before; Mr. Hitchcock, and no more than a couple of arms lengths away. The edge of the woods was just barely out of Will's grasp. An old fence stood just in front of it, and with no time to climb over it properly, Will lunged and somersaulted between two of the horizontal logs; feeling the man's desperate grab at his shirt as he leaped. He landed with a loud thud in the untamed shrubs and wasted no time in getting up and running again. Mr. Hitchcock and the horse both cried out in anger as they reached the fence, but unable to jump due to the height. Realizing it to be impossible to catch him on foot in the woods, he growled in anger again and turned the horse around to take the long way.

* * *

Loud struggles and yells came flooding into the dining room. Inman looked at his two captors in horror as he saw his youngest daughter being grasped violently by the gruesome Mr. Krueger. 

"Look what I found." He taunted as he squeezed Callie's cheeks roughly. Inman hastily stood, knocking his chair over.

"Don't hurt her!" He did his best to make his plea sound like an order. He tried to lunge at Mr. Krueger until he heard a pistol click. He looked and saw Archibald Caesar with a pistol poised directly at him.

"Let's not do anything rash. Just calmly take a seat."

Inman nodded, and then held out his arm beckoning for Callie to come over. Callie tried to oblige but Mr. Krueger pulled her back against him.

"No, no-no. She sits over here with us." Rupert Heathrow said as Mr. Krueger pushed her down roughly in the far chair across from Inman. Archibald approached her with a sickening smile.

"Admiral Archibald Caesar; or at least will be admiral again, and this is my partner Lord Rupert Heathrow." He introduced them both. Callie looked at him with a most unimpressed stare.

"I can't tell you how happy that makes me." Callie found her cutting tone. Archibald let out a bone-chilling chuckle.

"I must say Inman; you certainly haven't done your job well in making her behave like a lady." He stood behind Callie's chair and lightly twirled one of Callie's red curls around his finger. Callie jerked her head immediately.

"But she's sure starting to look like one." Archibald grabbed her hair violently and pulled her head back. He smiled wolfishly down at her and made a brave look at Inman, who was practically fuming from the ears. "So now are you going to sign the agreement? Or am I going to have to do to your daughter what I did to that little gypsy girl in England?" Callie violently shook her head in disgust to get her hair away from his fingers, finally he let go. Inman sighed sadly.

"What choice do I have?" Both Archibald and Rupert laughed.

"Funny how fast things change, eh?" Archibald said, still looking at Callie.

* * *

**A/N: First of all, a lord and admiral with convicted crimes getting revoked from their power would probably never happen, I'm sure they'd get a real penalty like prison or death. Plus I'm sure they'd never be able to get back in with signatures from fellow colleagues. I just made it up to make the story flow better. Sorry if you're bothered by that, just remember that I completely made it up. This is fictional so just use your imagination. Secondly like always this was supposed to be one update but it was getting very long to I decided to cut it in half. The second half should hopefully be up soon:)**


	40. Captures, thoughts, and hugging

Will looked over his shoulder for the thousandth time as he sped through the empty streets of the town. It was now probably at least midnight and anyone who would have been of any help had long retired to their homes. Will swiftly passed the general store. _'Good Payne's no more than a couple of buildings away.' _Will though in relief. He rounded the last corner and was running up to the building when a large black figure tackled him from behind. Will's head hit the ground with a loud thud and he groaned in his throat from the pain. Mr. Hitchcock appeared before him. His lips curled into a smile under his big black mustache. He thrust out a knife and pointed his directly at Will; he went cross-eyed by simply looking at it.

"To keep you from talking, we'll just have to rid you of that pesky tongue." Will kicked as hard as he could and make contact with some part of Mr. Hitchcock. He let out a loud 'oomph' as he flew back from his squatting position over Will, allowing Will to scramble to his feet. He ran hard to get the last few feet behind him to Payne's building. The front steps stood just barely more than a foot away before he felt Mr. Hitchcock's arm wrap around his neck. Will struggled desperately to get away; but unfortunately his captor was much stronger. With absolutely nothing else to do Will cried out,

"Payne!" Mr. Hitchcock laughed,

"That's exactly what you're about to feel!" With one swift movement he had his trusty knife slicing through the air at Will. He flinched as he expected the extreme pain when the sound of the front door opening caused them both to quickly turn around and look into the light from the house.

* * *

"Callie, sit by me sweetheart." Sandra said in a sweet voice as she patted the seat of the chair next to her. Callie gave her a nasty scowl.

"I'd rather sit next to the fat man with the loaded pistol." Callie snarled at her, motioning to Mr. Krueger. Sandra stood up and gently wrapped an arm around Callie's neck and pulled her down onto the chair.

"Let your Father take care of this." Sandra said as she draped her second arm around Callie. Inman stared hard at Sandra, and then looked at Callie. His eyes went remarkably soft in a matter of seconds; he stared apologetically at his daughter.

"Are people going to get hurt if you sign that?" Callie asked. Inman looked at her with a guilt-ridden look. He couldn't bear to answer. Then his sullen eyes went to the paper below him, and he scribbled his name at the bottom of the paper. Without looking up at any of the people in the room, he pushed the paper ahead of him and watched it be picked up.

"You did the right thing, Inman." Mr. Heathrow said. After a few moments Inman looked up with a stern face.

"Give me my daughter." Callie tried to stand but Sandra's arm pulled her back down.

"Hold on a moment." Mr. Heathrow said.

"You promised-" Inman angrily started.

"And our promise shall be kept. But first things first. There's still a little boy out there that needs to be brought back. Once Mr. Hitchcock brings him back and there's no chance of that bumpkin Payne or his good ol' boys coming in here, then we'll leave; only to see you, Inman, at the court meetings."

"In the mean time, why don't you give us a tour of your lovely house?" Mr. Caesar suggested. He offered an arm to Miss Sandra with a cheeky smile. She stood up, pulling Callie with her and took his arm graciously.

They were just heading towards the stairs when Callie abruptly stopped. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she let out a dry gasp and crumpled to the floor.

"Callie?" Inman cried as he quickly rushed over to her.

"She's faking!" Sandra snarled, "Don't let her fool you! Get up Callie!" Sandra nudged her, a little more than lightly.

"Don't touch her!" Inman roared as he clutched his daughter closer to him.

"Get her up!" Sandra ordered, ignoring Inman. Mr. Krueger roughly grabbed at Callie's other arm.

"No!" Inman roared as he tried to keep Callie close.

"Good god man, be gentle with the poor little girl. Can't you see she's swooned?" Mr. Caesar kneeled down to her, the signed agreement still in his hand.

With a loud groan Callie slowly sat up.

"Callie? Are you alright?" Inman asked as he gently backing up a bit from her. Callie took that as a cue to slowly stand up.

"Yes, I am. Maybe I should just-" Callie snatched the paper from Mr. Caesar's hand and took off in a shot. "Stretch my legs!" She taunted as she tore up the stairs.

"After her!" Mr. Heathrow cried. Mr. Krueger poised his pistol at Callie, but Inman quickly threw himself against Mr. Krueger, sending them both to the ground. The pistol went off, hitting just the wall after Callie shot by. She let out a involuntary yelp then inwardly scolded herself for allowing herself to show her fear. While the both of them heard three sets of footsteps going up the stairs, Mr. Krueger struggled to aim his pistol at Inman.

* * *

Callie got to the top of the stairs and out of habit ran straight towards her bedroom. She heard footsteps coming up behind her not a second after she had reached the top of the stairs. She entered her bedroom and threw the door closed as quickly as she could but felt it hit something soft; a body. Callie struggled to push the door closed but the strength of the three people behind the door easily overcame her. She frantically grabbed her tin canister full of dirt and threw it at the first person who came in. Ironically it was Sandra. Sandra received the face-full of dirt with an angry cry and a fit of sputters.

"You brat!" She spat as she stumbled backwards, unknowingly falling backwards into Mr. Caesar and Mr. Heathrow, sending the three of them into a bit of a tussle. During so Callie fled to the window and climbed out and down the side of her house in a flash.

* * *

With the new threat pointed almost directly between his eyebrows Inman pressed his thick arm in one hasty movement against Mr. Krueger's throat. He then grabbed the other hand holding the pistol and with all of his strength pushed the arm and the pistol of the floor. Mr. Krueger's left arm was now free; as Inman was focusing only on his throat and right arm, which left perfect opportunity for Mr. Krueger to push roughly against Inman's face. Inman let out a muffled groan as he felt his whole head being painfully pushed back. Just out of spite he pressed his arm even harder against Mr. Krueger's throat. Then with newly added pressure against his throat, Mr. Krueger's force on Inman's face became weaker. His own face started to turn a crimson color and he let out a weak strangled cry. Not wanting to kill him, Inman let go of Mr. Krueger's right arm and hit him square in the face, knocking him unconscious. Inman stumbled as he got up, his breath out of whack and he felt very dizzy, although with not a moment to lose he picked up the pistol and took off after Callie.

The door flew open with a loud crash as Inman started to mount the stairs. Payne and five men came stampeding into the house and Inman let out a grin of relief as he watched them do so.

"Hurry! They're upstairs!" Inman beckoned as he ran up the stairs himself, and then soon heard the men following his suite. They only had to get to the top of the stairs to find their culprits; sprawled out on the floor and all struggling to be free of each other. Their efforts soon stopped though when they heard the clicking of several rifles.

"If you'd kindly come with us, I'd like to ask you some questions." Payne said, and then beckoned for his men to get the three on their feet.

Inman stepped over then without a second glance and entered Callie's room. He glanced about looking for her when his eyes fell upon her open window. He poked his head out of the window and searched frantically below, finding nothing. He turned and headed downstairs. Payne and his men were just leading Sandra, Mr. Heathrow, Caesar, and Krueger out the door.

"We already have your friend Mr. Hitchcock in custody, and he's just itching to have some company." Payne taunted as his latest catch was led out of the Caldwell home.

"I'll be there in a moment boys." Payne said as one of his men closed the door. He looked to his side and saw Inman coming down the stairs in a mad hurry.

"Inman I'm going to need you and your girl to come down to my office to sign a witness waver over this, I've already got young Will Turner waiting-"

"Have you seen Callie?" Inman interrupted frantically. Payne's face went blank.

"She's not here? Where could she-" A thin scraggly shadow came barreling down upon Payne's head, knocking his hat off his head. With an angry sigh Payne turned around to see Callie holding a tree branch with the leaves still on it.

"Callie Caldwell what in the name of god where you gonna do with that?" Payne scoffed,

"I figure you'll want to yell at her a little bit so I'll just wait outside for you two." Payne said to Inman before exiting quickly.

Inman looked down and smiled, relieved that his daughter was safe.

"What'd you do that for? You must've known that was Payne." Inman half laughed.

"I know; that was for taking my lasso last week." Callie defended her actions and intelligence. She looked down at her branch and gripped it in both her hands as if it were as noble a weapon as Excalibur. " I did intend this to be for the others though. First I was gonna beat them senseless then perhaps stick it somewhere-"

"Callie" Inman said in his warning tone. Callie shrugged as she smiled. Then from her coat pocket she took out a folded piece of paper and handed it to him. He unfolded it, already knowing what it was. He looked down at his traitorous signature staring up at him. Inman shook his head sadly, then remembering the warrants of his arrest that were still on the dining room table; or rather should still be. Inman glanced into the living room and found the table completely bare. He turned back to his daughter.

"Do you have those warrants too? " Inman asked sternly. Callie looked down and pointed excitedly.

"Look! There's a caterpillar eating this leaf-"

"Callie" Inman said again.

"Fine" Callie said immediately and went into her other pocket to fish out the warrants she had taken as she snuck through the back of the house with the tree branch. Inman took them too and held out his arm,

"Shall we?" He asked. Callie let out a big grin and took his arm. They both trotted happily into the living room to where there was a lit candle on the mantelpiece above the fireplace. Without any thought Inman dipped his signed agreement into the fire and they both watched as the flames consumed it. Once the flames got a little too close to his fingers Inman dropped it into the fireplace.

"Now the warrants." Callie said, although it was more a question. Inman looked down at her, his smile had vanished.

"What would you think of me if I took the easy way out? What lesson would I be teaching you if I destroyed these?"

"There wouldn't be anyone around to teach me lessons if you don't destroy them." Callie protested. Inman flinched as if he had been struck. This decision was not going to be an easy one, he knew it from the moment he saw Archibald and Rupert present him the papers. Inman couldn't bear live without his family but how could he live with himself if he didn't take responsibility for his actions? How could he set an example for his girls to grow up to be, and to marry men who were dignified and honorable?

"I don't want to be in Will or Ray's situation. I don't want to have to do without." Callie said with a strangled voice, it broke Inman's heart to hear. That made up his mind right there.

"You don't have to." Inman stated as he dropped to his knees and pulled his daughter into a frantic hug. She accepted it willingly and hugged him very tightly in fear of losing him in any moment.

"But I'm not going to do what they've charged me of anymore." Inman stated; more to himself than to her. "Those warrants are no longer going to be accurate." '_Good-bye Jack,' _Inman though to himself '_So long old friend'._

* * *

"Alright, I know it's been a long night, so let's make this quick. The three of you sign and date there after reading the warrant, and you're free to go." Payne explained back at his office. Inman, Callie, and Will all signed without a second invitation and watched as their offenders passed by on their way to the cells.

"Herb, do you mind taking Will home? I should be getting Callie back to Charleston. Her mother's probably worried sick about her." Inman explained.

"I don't want to go back!" Callie protested.

"Your mother will surely die of heart failure if you don't. Now put your coat on, it's cold outside." Inman ordered.

"But-"

"Callie" Inman warned.

"Fine" Callie shrugged on her jacket.

Will watched as his friend headed out the door when a slight fear came over him. There was the small chance that he would not see his friend again, should her parents stay separated forever. Surely she would stay in Charleston with her mother, even if she didn't want to, and Will would be here alone. Well technically not alone since Ray and Lucy would still be here, but it certainly would not be quite the same without Callie there. Will felt the sudden urge to go hug her good-bye, should his fears come true and this is the last time he ever sees her, but he restrained himself. She'd think he was mad for hugging her and possibly punch him in the arm for touching her, and Will liked to avoid as many punches from her as possible. So when Callie momentarily looked over her shoulder at Will, all his did was mouth _'Bye' _and she did the same.

* * *

The sun started to rise as they entered Charleston on Argento. The streets were quiet as the people were still sleeping in their beds, so there was no one to catch sight of them coming into town. Up until they approached the gates of the house their ride was quite peaceful. Then as they were in front of the gates their luck ran out. It wasn't until the guard at the gate recognized her as his patron's niece did he allow them to pass by the gate. They reached the front of the house and Inman dismounted. He then lifted his sleepy daughter down.

"I can do it myself." Callie protested, although with a tired tone, as her feet touched the ground.

"Alright Callie cat, I guess I'll leave you here." Inman ignored her last comment. Callie frowned,

"You're not coming in to talk to her?" Inman shook his head, knowing who 'her' was.

"No, I don't think I'm exactly who your mother wants to see right now." Callie scoffed.

"Well of course I would come first but I'm sure you're a close second!"

The doors suddenly flew open and a middle aged man with a sour look stood before them. He sighed loudly and beckoned Callie to come over.

"Come child, my sister has been in a deadly panic since we found you were gone."

Inman scowled at his brother-in-law. He never referred to any of his nieces as part of his or Anita's family. He never referred to Anita as "your mother" and he only referred to their daughters as "the children". Inman knew exactly why Pierre did this; it was because the girls have _Inman's_ blood in them too, and that makes them unworthy of Anita or the rest of her family.

Callie turned around and looked at her father, _'aren't you coming?'_ her eyes asked, and Inman shook his head. Callie looked off to the side for a moment and smiled. _'Wait here'_, her mouthed and walked into the house. Once she was inside Pierre roughly shut the doors and Inman heard a loud click come from inside.

Inman waited as Callie had asked, although he wasn't sure why. He was about the get back on his horse when he heard a window from above squeak open. Inman looked above and saw Callie; she smiled and threw something to him. It hit the ground with a light clatter and Inman saw that it was a key.

"It goes to the back door." Callie called, "Don't get caught now." With that she shut the window and disappeared from sight.

* * *

Anita had not slept that entire night, or the night before. Everything had seemed to come barreling down so quickly she had barely been able to stand it. First this whole issue with her husband, now her daughter goes missing, her nerves could hardly bear it. Since she had arrived in Charleston the day before yesterday all she did was sit on her bed and sob. For a while the girls were all in there with her, but gradually they all left; Callie, then Annette, then Roseanne, then Evelyn. While Anita herself could not bring herself to leave, not even move from her spot on the bed.

She didn't want to believe what Sandra had said to her and if this had happened a few years ago she probably would have denied and denied, never doubting Inman for a second. _'So why now?' _Anita asked herself. But she knew why; it was because he doesn't hold her hand half as much as he used to, it's because he doesn't kiss her in public. It's because when they were young and he'd leave for his job, he'd come home as soon as he could; now he takes his time and can be gone for months without so much as one letter from him.

Anita sniffed loudly and looked for her handkerchief. It had fallen off the bed and was sitting on the floor. Anita leaned down to get it and when she sat up she saw a figure in the doorway. Anita's eyes widened and her jaw dropped when she saw it was her husband. His clothing and hair was completely disheveled and his eyes were slightly red and puffy; he must have been crying too. Overall he looked miserable, absolutely miserable. And in seeing that Anita had to fight with all her might against her sudden urge to jump into his arms and smother him with kisses crying _'I forgive you! Take us home!'_

Instead she pulled her feet closer to her body so she could cover them with her robe and turned away from him. She never saw the hurt look that infested Inman's face as he saw his wife's cold propriety. Still he pushed back his urges to leave and entered the room, showing no fear in his walk. He waltzed around the bed and sat down right in front of her, so she had fewer places to look as to avoid him. For a while he battled to catch her eye, staring intently at her as she alternated from looking all the way left to all the way right. When she finally was looking him in the eye Inman started to speak.

"Anita, come on. It took me four months and five different opinions to figure out that you liked me. I gave up my friends, allowed your family to treat me like dirt, and spend half a year away from home to earn good money, all for you" Inman said, "and the girls." He added after a moment.

"How could I ever…" Inman started, but didn't want to finish that sentence.

"You were so kind to her all the time." Anita said weakly. "And you barely show any affection to me when people are around. And those letters-"

"Sandra found those letters in my office; I never gave them to her." Inman interrupted, "And the reason I never opened many of them is because it became too hard for me to read them without wanting to throw myself overboard from missing you so much. It was just easier to not think about you when I was away."

Inman felt brave and tried to take her hand, but she pulled away before he could get contact with her.

"And I limit the public affection in front of people because I respect you too much to belittle you like that. You put all those women back there to shame. You put all women to shame."

Anita looked down; she never knew how to take a compliment when it came to her looks.

"Except the girls. They're catching up to you alarmingly fast." Inman added again. Anita laughed lightly, she couldn't help herself. Inman tried again for Anita's hand, this time she did not pull away. He placed one hand on top of it, then another after a few moments went by and she did not pull away. He took her hand and cradled it against his cheek as if it were fine silk.

"Here's what we're going to do." Anita said, abruptly breaking the silence. Inman looked up to her.

"Right now, we are both going to come up with…seven things that we love about each other." Anita stated.

"Seven?" Inman said nervously.

"And I'd better believe them." Anita warned.

"Seven?" Inman repeated.

"Yes seven. Now you first."

"Uh, I, uh…" Inman thought.

"Inman" Anita half cried, begging him to do it.

"I love the way your hair smells in the morning." Inman thought quickly. Anita nodded.

"Okay, fair enough. That's one. My turn; I love that you're so dedicated and loving to the girls, and that you work so hard to provide for us."

"Alright, that should count as two. I love… that you arrange everything in the house over fifty times even though you always end up putting them the same way as they were before."

"I love that you still straighten up your posture every time I walk into the room!" Anita said adoringly.

"I love that when you smile I can still instantly forget what I was saying."

"I love that you can make grown men stand on their heads for you but you still melt into a puddle of goo when it comes to your daughters."

"I love how nurturing your voice sounds when you're consoling them." Inman added.

"I love that you actually threw an apple at a man for just talking to me." Anita laughed.

"You can't prove that that was me." Inman teased. "I love your bravery; that you took a chance and married the wild card."

They were getting closer now, their foreheads were almost touching.

"I love that you still married me even after you met my family!" Anita laughed.

"Me too; with my family!" Inman added.

"I love that you can tell me what you're thinking without even saying a word." Anita said as her final point.

"I love that I can't enjoy anything in this world until I've shared it with you." Inman said, and finally got to do what he'd wanted to do since he'd gotten there and pulled her into a kiss. Inman could feel tears from Anita's eyes fall onto his cheeks, which made him kiss her more.

"Don't let you ever doubt you again!" Anita pleaded into his shoulder once they broke their kiss.

"I'll never give you a reason to doubt." Inman promised her and he hugged her tightly. Inman suddenly remembered,

"I guess I hadn't told you this yet, but Callie's home."

"Right, Callie!" Anita cried as she broke away from Inman and took off towards her room.

As Anita fled from the room Roseanne, Evelyn, and Annette soon entered. Inman held out his arm, silently begging for his daughters to come over. He pleaded for them not to have thought the worst of him; that their love for him had not changed. Roseanne was the first to come. She hardly took any time in obliging him and going straight into his arms. _'My oldest' _Inman thought fondly _'Always so good, so forgiving'_. Evelyn and Annette soon obliged as well, they waited behind Roseanne for their turn. Roseanne finally let go and Inman took Evelyn into his arms. She covered her eyes with her hands and buried her face into Inman's coat. She sobbed hard and Inman cradled her until she was fine. _'Dear Evelyn, so innocent'_ He finally let go and Annette wrapped her arms around Inman immediately; almost violently, barely giving Evelyn any time to move out of the way. _'So easy to love'_ Inman thought as he placed a kiss on top of her blonde head.

"I'm so sorry you all had to go through all of this." Inman said to all three of them. Roseanne smiled weakly, trying to be strong. Evelyn was choking back new tears, and Annette was still holding strong around his waist.

"Well isn't this a hug fest?" Inman looked up to see Callie standing with Anita in the doorway. Annette finally let go as she turned around, the newly free Inman smiled at Callie.

"Callie," He taunted and held out his arms. Callie's eyes widened and she backed away.

"Oh no" She said "No, I got my hug at the house."

Inman started to step forward, his arms still out.

"They got me started, I can't stop now." He said. Callie held her hands up and continued to back away. Anita and the girls all started to laugh.

"Oh please stop. I got my hug. I'm all hugged out."

Inman continued to come forward, a silly smile plastered on his face.

"We made a deal, one hug a month. You can't break the-ah!" Callie took off running as Inman tried to grab her. He went after her, in hot pursuit of his hug, leaving the four other women laughing hysterically behind them.

* * *

Sandra looked miserably out the jail cell window, their sentence would be decided in Charleston in a couple of days, and they were to leave in a matter of hours. The sound of footsteps caused Sandra to abandon her thoughts and focus her attention on Inman Caldwell, who was standing right in front of her cell. He smiled and from behind his back pulled out a set of keys. Sandra eyed him curiously as he placed a key into the lock and opened the door. Sandra thought for a moment and scowled at him.

"I thought a gentlemen such as yourself would be above revenge." She stated. Inman's eyebrows rose and he let out a smug smile.

"_I_ may be above revenge. But she's not." Inman tilted his head behind him then moved out of the way. All Sandra saw after that was a glimpse of Callie holding a bucket, and a yellow cloud of oatmeal flying right towards her.

* * *

**A/N: Well there's the second part. Hope you all enjoyed it. I did allow a certain part from Sweeney Todd and an episode from Malcolm in the Middle to inspire some parts of this chapter, just so I'm not accused of copying. Sorry Will's not in this one much, but I had to focus more on Inman to finish this part of the story.**


	41. A witch's forwarnings

* * *

Bethany came back to work soon enough, once news had spread of the horrid Sandra Snow. When Bethany did return she was greeted with open arms by the Caldwell family, even Callie. That didn't stop her however from booby-trapping the chandelier in the dining room for Bethany just a week later. Events did not seem to stop at their house.

Just three weeks after the incident with Sandra, Inman was still at the breakfast table when Daniel Carmichael rushed into the room. Inman raised his brow curiously at the young man as if it was obvious that Daniel meant to say something. Unbeknownst to Inman Roseanne was listening from the other room. Just that morning was the first time Dr. Dan had managed to see her since she returned from Charleston. Realizing how much he indeed missed seeing her, he made a very important decision. That very morning Dr. Dan met with Roseanne and he presented her with a ring. She accepted it without a moment's though, although she did make one request. That he ask her father for her hand, since Inman was so upset about George not asking him previously.

So when Dr. Dan made his formal request for Roseanne's hand, Inman did in fact give his blessing. He wasn't particularly over-joyed, in fact he was quite surprised at the hastiness of this engagement. They'd only known each other for a couple of months, and hadn't even been officially courting. All they seemed to do was the odd meal or walk; always with a chaperone of course. Daniel Carmichael was a busy young man, and could not afford much more than a few moments for leisure time. That factor made Inman a little nervous, yet to be fair Inman himself didn't have the best attendance record with his family either. Overall he did appreciate the propriety and respect shown for Roseanne and her family for formally requesting marriage. Plus Daniel Carmichael was a kind, gentle man, he was of an appropriate age, and since he was a doctor Inman would never have to worry about his eldest daughter being provided for. Yes, he definitely liked the doctor over that pompous little twerp, George. He was sad about losing his Rosy, but he was also sure he'd come to really like his future son-in-law.

After hearing her father give his acceptance to Daniel's request Roseanne bolted into the room with a beaming smile. She ran to give her father a quick embrace and whispered a grateful thank-you in his ear. He hugged her tightly, a little resistant to le her go until the presence of Daniel so close behind them was overwhelming. Inman sighed a little sadly as he presented Roseanne to Daniel. He took her hand in his own and they went into their own embrace, even though the mood of it was completely different.

Only so much of that was allowed before Inman placed an arm in between them, as he felt their embrace had become a little too friendly.

"You're not married yet." Inman reminded both of them, but his eyes were set on Daniel.

Thirteen months later the wedding was held in the open green meadows in Willow's Bend. They had been originally planning to wed in Father Birch's lovely church when at the wedding rehearsal Callie was angrily chasing her cousin Marguerite and accidentally knocked some candlesticks over. The flames of the candles caught onto the long velvet curtains that draped partly over the floor. The church practically erupted in flames, hardly giving anybody any time to escape.

As angry as everyone was about the destroyed church, especially her father who would be paying for the re-construction of it, the outdoor wedding underneath the willow trees that gave their town its name was more wonderful than anyone could have ever imagined.

Seven months prior to the wedding, Dr. Dan had put a deposit on the construction of their own family home, which was meant to be ready for the newly-wed couple to move into after the wedding. Just as he had planned, the couple settled in just after their wedding day and five months after the wedding, moreover around her nineteenth birthday, Roseanne announced to her family she was expecting a baby. Everyone was ecstatic, and nine months later a newborn baby boy named Walter was welcomed into the world.

* * *

_**Two Years Later…**_

Will was sleeping contently while the feather mattress curled to every curve of Will's body, keeping him perfectly warm as he continued his slumbering. As this had become such a normal routine, Will was becoming unfazed by the run ins Callie made at night that used to catch him with such surprise. No longer scared by her normal entrances Callie now saw fit to pull things Will wouldn't expect. One particular night in April an almost twelve year old Will was rudely awakened by his mattress literally flipping, sending him flying to the floor with a loud thud. Like an animal ensnared in a trap Will thrashed in his blankets, trying to loosen their hold on him. Finally a little bit free, Will managed to pull the blanket off his head. His hair was messed over to one side of his face and he wore a blank look on his face, unable to comprehend what had just happened. This pleased Callie and she let out a delighted laugh. Will continued staring, completely baffled. Moreover on how she actually managed to flip Will's mattress by herself.

"It's all in the legs." Callie stated, reading Will's mind. His eyes widened, not quite believing that Callie had managed to actually flip a down mattress and Will with just her own muscles. She was getting much stronger nowadays, Will could tell by the intensity of her play punches, however Will didn't realize she getting to be that strong.

"You would not believe who or what moreover came into town." Callie skipped to her point immediately with such an excited flame in her eye it enticed Will to know as well.

"What?" Will asked, genuinely interested.

"A witch!"

* * *

The old woman lived on the cheapest bit of property the town offered. It was flooded from the rain eleven months out of the whole year, so the land was practically a bog. News of this mysterious woman had literally traveled over night amongst the children and that night dozens of them flocked through the festering swamps to catch a glimpse of her. In practically perfect straight line Callie, Will, Lucy and Ray made their way with the others onto the strange woman's property.

"She can't be a witch." Will said. Not paying attention to where he was walking, he accidentally stepped into an open puddle. He groaned a little in his throat as he felt the soupy contents squish into his shoes.

"She is too." Callie's voice came from behind him. She expertly was hopping over every puddle, her feet were as dry as a bone. "She comes in the middle night, lives in a bog, looks like a hag-"

"You don't know that." Will broke in, "She just came into town. No one knows what she looks like." Realizing that Lucy was right behind him Will offered her a hand and helped her around the puddle he stepped into himself. She looked down bashfully as she felt her cheeks turning red. It's been six years since Lucy had developed her liking for Will and she still hadn't been able to shake it.

"She's a hag." Callie confirmed. "I'd bet my life on it."

An old rickety wagon came into view, the same type traveling folk or gypsies traveled in. Children began ducking behind bushes and tall grasses to sneak peaks without getting glanced at themselves. No image of the woman was visible, only the light from a few lowly candles shimmered through an open window. Kids strained and whined as they couldn't see what was happening in the wagon.

"Somebody's gotta go look in the window." Roscoe Payne hissed amongst the other spying children.

"Who's crazy enough to go up there?" A boy whispered.

"Me! Me!" Callie cried and was out of the bushes before anyone utter a word.

"Callie!" Will hissed once he realized the space where his friend used to be was now vacated. "Cal! Get back here!" He waited for a moment, then taking off after her.

Callie had made it over and around the puddles and was just going it up the stairs when she felt a hand grip her shoulder. Callie looked over her shoulder, slightly surprised. But seeing it was only Will she quickly returned to her peeping.

No one and nothing was really visible. Inside sat a table with some weird cards on it, and a flat piece of wood with letters on it.

"I don't see anything." Callie sounded quite disappointed. "Maybe she's off flying on her broom."

The door suddenly flew open. With not enough space on the top step and a heavy door flying at them both Callie and Will leapt off the small step ladder onto the ground. From behind the door an elderly woman was revealed, with hair as white as snow, and skin so wrinkled it looked like bad leather, looking down upon them with one blue eye and one brown eye.

Scattered cries of fear burst out from the bushes as the waiting children got first glimpses of the witch.

"She's caught them!" Somebody cried out and a stampede broke out. The multiple feet running away at once caused the ground to rumble. Will looked up at the woman and felt his face immediately pale. With his instincts kicking in he moved in front of Callie, preparing himself to protect her if necessary. Callie chose to have none of that and shoved him away from her view of the witch. Callie looked at the woman, unfazed by her haggard appearance, and gave the old woman her most charming grin.

"Well hello there." Callie said almost a little too cheerfully to be believable. Will stared at her as he wondered what she was up to. "I'm Callie Caldwell and that weird looking one over there is Will Turner. "

Slowly the woman turned around to look at Will. The sheer awkwardness of the situation became to intense all he could manage to do was smile sheepishly and look down until the woman stopped staring at him.

"I'm sorry about dropping in on you like this, but you see, we don't get a lot of interesting folks around these parts so when someone like you comes along, everyone's just dying to get a look at you." Callie continued on, despite Will wordlessly pleading her not to.

The shriveled lips on the woman's face arched into an upward curve that caused her saggy cheeks and crows feet to reach higher on her face. She extended a hand towards the entranceway to her home, her bony fingers practically disappeared when they turned sideways.

"Come in" She said so quietly it was almost too hard to hear. Callie didn't need to be asked twice. She waltzed right in and was already curiously picked around her things before Will could so much as comprehend what the woman had just said. Callie picked around the bottles and urns with a delighted curious gleam in her eye. Finally noticing Will was still on the front step she groaned loudly and stomped back outside.

"You big chicken, I can't believe you need a girl to protect you from a little old witch, I have to hold your hand to do anything." Callie grumbled under her breath as she came outside, grabbed his arm and whipped him into the wagon. Will struggled a bit, which proved to be pointless. Callie's will to get him into the woman's home was stronger than his wish to be out of it. Will stumbled a bit as Callie drug him over the old floorboards that were so warped from time they stood up a bit at certain points. She placed him in front of one of the woman's old shelves and pointed a sharp finger at the jars.

"Now you will look at those frogs and you will like it!" Callie ordered as she forcefully held Will's neck, making him unable to turn it anywhere else.

"It's quite sad actually that that's not the first time you've ever said that to me." Will grumbled as he started into a blank pair of eyes in the gooey yellow water.

"Come child." The old woman abruptly stopped the children's bickering with a soft hand on Callie's shoulder. "Let's see what the future holds for you."

Callie's previously irritated look lit up again in utter delight.

"Yes!" Callie agreed, she nudged Will, "You see, its perks like this that make it nice to have a witch in town!"

The old woman had quickly seated herself at a small table in her back room and was beckoning Callie to follower her. She came with no second invitation, taking the seat across from the old woman. Will started to follow when the old woman shot up her hand.

"You must stay, only one self can know their own future, should they decide to know it." The woman said and pulled a side curtain shut, blocking Will's view of them.

Left alone in the eerie little room, Will wandered about with a cautious curiosity. On the table sat a thin block of wood with poorly carved letters across it. On the side directives had been carved. _'What a phony, she doesn't even know how to use this. She needs instructions on how to use it.' _Will thought to himself, relieved to be assured that this was all fake. Still, curiosity overtook him and he found himself skimming over the minimal lines.

_Let the looking-glass show you what has yet to occur. Place your hand on the lens, ask your question, and let it lead you to your answer _was all that it read.

In a little side box sat a circular piece of glass. Figuring that must be the 'lens' the instructions referred to Will placed it on the board, with his index and middle fingers pressed against it, and thought for a second of a good question to ask. Not really dying to know of anything specific, he decided to start small with a simple one.

"In ten years, what will I be?" Will whispered, not wanting Callie to walk out and catch him actually playing with this stupid thing. Not sure what to expect, Will patiently waiting for an answer. Just as he was about to abandon his efforts the lens slowly began to shift across the board. Will took a jumped a bit in surprise, but never removed his fingers from the glass. It stopped for a moment, the lens magnifying the letter 'B', then made it's way over to 'L', and continued in that fashion until the word 'Blacksmith' had been spelled out. Will frowned, a bit confused at that. He hadn't really thought of himself as a blacksmith, although he did like working with his hands…

The lens moved again, interrupting Will's thoughts. It landed on 'B', 'E', 'T', 'R', 'O', 'T', 'H', 'E', 'D'. Will couldn't help but smile, at least he wasn't going to die a bachelor like Callie kept saying he would.

"Who am I betrothed to?" Will said again, careful to keep his voice down. The lens moved back to 'E', then continued on to 'L', 'I', 'Z', 'A', 'B', 'E', 'T', 'H'. Will smiled again, he couldn't help but be proud of himself.

"Elizabeth Turner. That sounds pretty good."

The curtain to the back door whipped open, startling Will greatly.

"You're talking to yourself now? And you say I'm crazy." Callie said, but Will didn't hear it. He was too busy putting the lens back into the box where he found it.

"Your turn now, come on." The woman called to Will, she was still in the backroom. Will glanced at Callie, looking for a sign that it was okay for him to go in. Callie nodded him over there, Will took it as a safe sign.

The witch noisily shut the curtains as soon as Will entered the room. He took the same seat Callie had sat in before, and gave his hands to the witch, who was beckoning for them.

For the longest times she examined his fingers, they looked unbelievably young compared to the old hags leathery stubs. She turned over his hands for the tenth time, staring into his palms.

"You're looking for your Father." She said abruptly with a much groggier voice than before.

Will's eyes widened at the sudden remembrance of his father, who he stupidly forgot to ask the board about.

"Yes," Will said, the shock was still evident in his voice. "Where can I find him?"

"Not here." She said quickly. "On the ocean. That is all I can say about that."

"Wait, but, where on the ocean?" Will pressed.

"I cannot say." She answered.

"Okay, when?"

"I cannot say."

"How, then?"

"I cannot say."

"Then what can you say?" Will yelled out, very irritated on the witch's unhelpful answer.

"That you will find him out of chance, and you will make great sacrifices for that chance."

"What kind of sacrifices?" Will asked, his voice became quite small in an impressive amount of time.

"A great love." She whispered. "One you might not get back."

"A love with who? Elizabeth?" Will wasn't sure if he should have spoken his supposed future fiancé's name to her but he was too enveloped to not know what the old woman meant. For a moment she gave disconcerting smile and glanced out from a slip in the curtain. Will followed the look for a moment, yet still confused on the meaning behind her look.

"From cradle to grave, " The witch began with her voice normal.

"the harder you fell, for the obvious choice," The woman continued reciting, the volume of her voice softened,

"…a Miss Callie Caldwell." She mouthed those last words, to make sure the girl on the other side of the curtain didn't hear. Will jerked back as if he'd been struck. Completely dumbfounded he stared at the woman, waiting for some sign that proved she was lying. The woman stayed calm, with no regrets on what she had revealed. Will let out a furious fit of laughter as he stood up.

"Now I _know_ you're a fake. That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard." Will swatted the curtain away and walked out, laughing like a lunatic.

Callie was inspecting more of the urns when Will came tumbling out of the room, holding his sides for surely they'd spilt right there if he didn't, he was laughing so hard. Callie frowned at him, incompletely unsure of Will's actions.

"Let's go, this woman's ridiculous!" Will giggled like Callie had never heard before. She didn't even know he could laugh that hard. Almost like a drunkard Will stumbled out of the wagon and into the bog with heavy feet, many times having to grab onto Callie for support. This time it was Callie who seemed sane to the presumably mad one.

He didn't really manage to calm himself down, but he did realize how odd he must seem to Callie so he made an effort to stop his laughter. However every time he so much as glanced at Callie he'd let one big belch of laughter out, letting beads of spit fly out as well, most of it usually hitting Callie right in the face. After the fourth time Callie angrily whipped the beads away and stepped behind him.

"I'm not walking with you if you're going to do nothing but spit at me the entire time." She said as she fell into step behind him. Her comment only made Will laugh more.

They were getting closer to the town and Will had hardly let up his laughter at all. The last thing they needed was Will's girly little giggles waking everybody up. Callie made a grab and took a handful of the back of Will's shirt, stopping him from getting any closer to the slumbering citizens.

"I don't know what she said but you've got to calm down about it now. Just remember, it's probably not true." Callie spoke over his shoulder. The adult mannerisms in her voice were quite strange to hear, it was something not common with her. However this was definitely not a common night.

"Yeah," Will breathed, finally stopping his laughter. Callie's reassurance had been the cure Will needed. "It's not true."

* * *

**A/N: Soooo sorry for the long wait, if you were wondering about me I'm very sorry to keep you waiting. I'm actually ending this story a little faster than i intended, basically because i want to get to the second part faster. Anyway hope you enjoy and i'll try to make another update much faster this time. By the way, i'm know wedgie (if that's how it's spelled) boards weren't invented then, i was just having a little fun.**


	42. I love you?

* * *

Will never spoke of what the witch had said to him. He feared how they would react to that but of information. Will and Callie had always been lightly teased over their close knit friendship, out of pure bitterness towards Callie, Roscoe Payne would jeer and chant at them whenever he saw them. Then out of natural instinct the other children quickly caught on with Roscoe,

"There go the love birds."

"When's the wedding?" Things like that were quite frequently called at them. Children were easy to handle though. Whenever they yelled something Callie could easily counter it. Sometimes she would give a straight out denial like

"Yuck! Who'd want to kiss that gangly little thing?" While Will wasn't particularly fond of that one, he appreciated the defense. Another popular one, out of simply knowing her enemy's weakness, Callie would just simply say something among the lines of,

"I'd never two-time on Roscoe." And sometimes even for dramatic effect she'd blow at kiss at Roscoe if he was present. The joke would always turn on Roscoe within seconds.

Although after a while the grown-ups in town began to join in on the fun. Uncle Tim and Gavin made comments of their own like,

"If you think she's moving in here once you're hitched you can forget about it." Inman and Anita had their own thoughts, and wishes of the children's supposed romance, however out of respect they kept those words to themselves. It never really bothered either Will or Callie. Things that they knew weren't true were brushed right off their shoulders like dust.

However now with the witch's predictions still fresh in Will's memory, it seemed like everyone was in on some important part of Will and Callie's life except Will and Callie. Every comment after that night seemed to slowly chip away at Will. Soon he found himself almost frightened by what was being said. He couldn't be in love with Callie! She was his best friend, she wasn't a romantic interest, she was just Callie! Nothing about her was very appealing to Will, physically.

Callie's look was a little too boyish, her hair was too red, her face was too overabundant with freckles, and the fact that she's now probably strong enough to pick Will up over her head couldn't be more unattractive.

Callie was the perfect girl to be friends with; sure she was hasty and was always getting into trouble but her calm attitude and lack of interest towards Will romantically just made the perfect friendship.

The strain of attraction was in no way there and that left all the room in the world for just enjoying each other's company.

So why was Will so worried now? He racked his brain over and over for the answer. Days with Callie soon became strained and awkward for no reason. Callie did not even hear what the witch had said, and yet she was acting differently. One day they spent five hours together and didn't say one word the entire time! It seemed like Callie had sensed Will's apprehension and that affected her mood. Because of those days Will made the bold decision to not see Callie until this strange funk had worn off. He gave his uncles strict orders to not let Callie come into the house, to tell her he was sick. Also as much as he hated to do so, Will locked his bedroom window, and pulled the curtains shut. He did not hear her at the window but figured since she had been in sneaky mode these days surely she must had been there at least once.

While feigning sick Will read his books all day. Over the years Will had acquired his own little library, which he would read over and over whenever he got the chance. Luckily for Will, by the time his guilt started to overcome him Will was presented with an opportunity that would keep him from facing his problems for at least a little while.

Too afraid to so much as step one foot out of his room, lest he find Callie leaning against a doorway or pressed against a window looking in, just waiting for him to come out. So he stayed in his musty little prison, with his meals delivered by his uncles, who in turn, were not pleased with being Will's servants. Will was just finishing up In Praise of Folly, a personal favorite of his, when a knock at the door interrupted him. Gavin came in with a steamy plate of food. He practically tossed it onto Will's nightstand and it landed with a heavy plop, causing Will to finally look up from his book.

"Thank-you" Will mumbled, looking back at his book.

"Not to say we ain't thrilled over the heathen's absence, but helping you hide from her is something we are not set to do it forever. What we can offer you though, is a temporary escape." Will looked up from his book again.

"Tim and I are planning to board a ship, for the southern colonies. We have to meet for a business plan. You're welcome to come, or stay. We'd be gone for five or six months at least, on the sea for the most part." Will's eyes lit up for a moment at his uncles mentioning for the sea.

"Yes," Will said without thinking, "yeah I'll go." Gavin nodded,

"Alright, well we leave in six days to Charleston. Be ready to leave." Gavin quickly exited the room, leaving Will with more of his own guilt. Not only for his hiding from Callie here, but now the guilt of running to a different continent from her. However when Uncle Gavin mentioned that they would be _sailing_ Will couldn't help but remember what the witch had said about his Father; that he would meet him on the sea, Will was in no position to pass up this opportunity. Surely Callie could understand that.

That evening, or moreover the middle of the night Callie finally made an appearance. The loud shuffling sound of Will's curtains and the light from the full moon blared rudely into Will's room. Normally the light would be minimal but after four days of nothing but weak candlelight Will could literally feel his pupils constricting. He cried out and threw his face into his pillow to block out the light.

"What are you doing?" Will cried into the pillow, knowing who it was.

"What are _you_ doing?" Callie shot back, "You can't fool me Will. You haven't actually been sick since you came here. You're the healthiest boy on earth."

Will looked up from the pillow to Callie, blinking like a nearly blind man. For the first time ever Callie looked utterly clueless she had just asked a question she didn't know the answer to.

"You better answer me, and it better be the truth, or at least a really amazing lie. You have no idea how many little homemade booby-traps your uncles put up that I had to navigate through to get up here." Callie was talking at normal volume, and was obviously getting angrier as she spoke.

"Okay" Will said, he had no intention of arguing. " I was actually going to come to talk to you tomorrow morning."

"Yeah, right " Callie practically snarled.

"I was, I am." He confirmed.

"Why not tell me-" Callie was raising her voice to a dangerously loud level.

"No!" Will stopped her before she woke his uncles up. If they knew she was here they'd get the shot guns out and one of these days they probably weren't going to miss.

"I promise I'll talk to you tomorrow. Meet me at the pond around nine in the morning." Callie stared hard at him, inspecting to make sure he was telling the truth. Unable to find any reason to doubt him she just rolled her eyes.

"You better be there." She warned with a sharp finger pointed at him. With that she retreated to the window.

"Keep this open." Callie ordered as she undid the latch and flung the window open.

"Stupid boy, making me come inside to get up here, so bloody dangerous!" Callie's repetitive grumbling started to fade away as she scaled down Will's house. Will fell down on his bed with a relieved sign, at least he had been graced with a little time to figure out how he was going to break the news to Callie.

* * *

"Whaddayameanleavin'?" Callie snapped, her anger causing her words to clump together, and sound like one.

"My uncles need to go south for business." Will repeated what his uncle had said, in order to defend himself. Callie just scoffed at him.

"Business, what business? Unless sitting around and shooting at little girls is a profession. Since I've been…alive the only time I've ever seen them leave this town was when they went to come get you. Now they choose to go?" Callie whined like a five year old, her knees locking and unlocking childishly.

"What's so special about now?" Will asked, genuinely interested in this.

"We were going to go visit Roseanne's house set chickens loose, then we were going to…" Hearing Callie go on about her usual shenanigans set such a relief upon Will he was almost sorry he was leaving, almost.

"They're going and I have to come with them, what do you want me to do?" Will said, he started back on the trail towards his house, leaving Callie to catch up.

"Well just stay at my house." She said once she caught up. Will shook his head, almost violently.

"No"

"Why not?"

Will couldn't bring himself to actually say what he was thinking. He clenched his jaw to keep the words from slipping out, and kept walking.

"Why not?" Callie repeated, she jumped in front of Will, blocking his path. Again he did not answer, but attempted to walk around her. They were shoulder to shoulder when Callie stuck her foot out. It tangled immediately with Will's feet and he fell to the ground with a loud 'oomph'.

"Why not?" Callie was bent over him, with a menacing glare, or at least it looked like that since the sun behind her was shining right in Will's eyes.

"Because everyone already thinks we're a couple." Will said in a whoosh. Callie stared at him, completely perplexed. She stayed that was for such a long time that Will wondered maybe she hadn't heard him.

"Well," Callie finally said.

"That's gotta be the stupidest thing I've ever heard." Now she walked around him and continued down the path. Will quickly got up to his feet and took off after her.

"Well doesn't that bother you?" Will pressed, still walking a little bit behind her.

"No" she said, sounding as if he'd just said the dumbest thing never. "It's not true, why would that bother me?"

"Exactly!" Will ran the last few feet to catch up. "It's not true. This is why it bothers me." Callie's lower lip puckered out in a feigned sympathetic look.

"Poor Willy. Do you want me to beat them up for you?" Will rolled his eyes.

"If anything, that'd make it worse!"

"Can't laugh if they don't have any teeth." She pointed out.

"Beating people up won't stop it!" Will snapped. Callie seemed ready to retract a little bit, but still she stayed calm.

"Well what do you suppose we do?" Callie asked, even though she knew what Will was thinking. She was angry, it was obvious in her eyes. Will couldn't bring out an answer for her, so he just continued to look solemnly at her, while she had that knowing look on her face. The way she stood there she seemed to want to be proven wrong. After a certain amount of silence Callie finally accepted that she was right.

"Fine, have fun on your trip." She spat bitterly, and walked away.

"Wait a minute or two before you start walking." Callie yelled to Will, but still looking straight ahead. She was not about to share the same air with him at the moment.

* * *

The next day Will found himself stepping up the familiar porch steps of the Caldwell home. Yet with the hostilities between Callie and him the day before, the house seemed more intimidating than it was the first day he had ever come there. He rapped his bony fist on the door a few times, having a fool's hope that Inman, Anita, Bethany, Annette, or Evelyn would come to the door first. At least he'd have a better chance of getting into the house. However when the easily recognizable sound of a light foot making a heavy bound towards the door caused Will heart to sink. Callie always came to the door the exact same way; a rampaging frenzy. Will had her footing so memorized he always knew it was her before the door even opened.

Obviously she was expecting someone else, she opened the door with a big grin which was quickly lost once she realized who it was. Before Will could so much as open his mouth the door slammed shut in his face.

"Callie! Cal, come on!" Will yelled at the door. "I'm sorry. I don't want to not be your friend, it's just hard to ignore what the other people are saying."

The door opened again, Callie did not look any happier, but wasn't slamming the door in his face either.

"But your friendship is more important than that, so I'll overcome my apprehensions."

That was all he had to say, Callie smiled brightly and walked onto the porch closing the door behind her. Will had obviously been forgiven.

"Let's go into town."

* * *

Their visit had been the most awkward it had even been. Older women looking upon them and chuckling to one another, saying "young love" and "oh just a precious little couple." Younger children started their usual taunting and their rehearsed songs.

Now being let in on Will's concerns, Callie couldn't help but adopt them as her own. She did not shoot back anything to the people, even Roscoe, as they called at them. Instead she quickened her pace and Will followed suite.

Their visit into town was much shorter than they intended. Basically their trip considered of going into town then leaving immediately. Just as they hit the trail outside the town Callie and Will finally looked at each other for the first time since they entered the town.

"Maybe we shouldn't talk until you get back from your trip." Callie stated, she wasn't angry, in fact she sounded downright saddened.

"Okay," Will said quietly sending his gaze to the ground. He examined the dirt below his feet very carefully until the sound of Callie's strides faded away completely. It was decided that they'd stay away from each other until Will left on his trip, then hopefully by the time he returned home this whole thing will have blown over.

* * *

Will sat on the porch and stared out at the billowing braches of the willow trees just ahead as they were blown around by the wind. Will let out the tenth bored sigh in the last two minutes, which caused Uncle Tim to finally loose it.

"Would you get outta here? You're driving us crazy with that infernal racket!" His chair scraped the wood porch floor as he angrily shifted in it. Will got up and strolled away from the house without a word of protest. Seven days of being by himself, save for the morning in between when he told Callie his news, Will was becoming incredibly bored. Before coming here Will could quite easily go at least twice this long without much human contact, although now being accustomed to Callie's, Ray's, and Lucy's frequent company he found it mighty difficult to be independent for so long.

With Callie not spending time with him, surely she would already have Ray preoccupied in entertaining her, and Lucy was so enveloped in her studying for her debut in three years she hardly had a moment free. Although for the sake of something to do, Will made his way to Lucy's home anyway.

It was a very modest home, with everything white. The house was white, the shutters white, a white fence, even little white daisies sprouting up from the evenly grown grass. Among the daisies Will saw Lucy sitting on a petite stool sketching one of the friendly faces of the open faced blossoms.

"How does it look?" Will asked as he casually leaned on the fence. Startled by her abrupt interruption she glanced up immediately. Realizing it was Will she smiled warmly and turned her sketchbook around for him to see. He examined it and gave her a warm smile, wordlessly telling her he liked it.

"You wouldn't have time to take a walk, would you?" Will asked.

Lucy's stool toppled over as she abruptly stood up.

"I'll just ask my mother." She said in a very giddy tone. She sprung in and out of the house in mere seconds. Her parents were both very found of Will and trusted him completely, thus they had no objections to their daughter spending a little time with him alone, while they were both in their innocent and naïve stages.

From the porch to the fence Lucy sprang happily towards Will and took the arm Will had offered to her. Unlike Callie, Will's chivalrous actions were not wasted on Lucy.

They didn't talk for a while, after all this time alone Will almost forgotten how to make normal conversation.

"Can I ask you a question?" Lucy broke the silence.

"Yes, of course." Will answered, grateful for the noise of speech.

"There are a lot of rumors going around, and I was just wondering…" Lucy seemed almost embarrassed to ask, "Are you and Callie in love?"

"Not you too!" Will groaned tiredly.

"Well it's hard not to wonder." Lucy protested.

"We're not in love, Lucy. I don't love Callie, and Callie doesn't love me."

"That's what Callie said, but you never know."

"No," Will confirmed, choosing his words very carefully to thoroughly explain this to Lucy. "I don't have the slightest interest in Callie. Nor does she feel anything for me."

Lucy laughed out loud, momentarily Will thought it was because she felt embarrassed over her silliness, but later discovered it to be a laugh of relief.

"I'm very pleased with that because, well, over the years I found myself becoming very…fond of you." Lucy said in a very sincere tone. She said it as if she was embarrassed yet the frankness of it seemed very brave. Will abruptly stopped walking, causing Lucy to stop as well. He looked at Lucy with a very sympathetic look on his face.

"Oh, " He said stupidly. "Lucy, I, uh, I'm very flattered, but…"

Lucy's cheeks flushed, and she looked modestly at the ground.

'_What is going __on__? Has everyone caught the love bug or something?" _Will screamed in his mind as he forced himself to gently regain Lucy's gaze. He tilted his head down, cocking it in alternate ways almost birdlike until finally he locked his eyes with Lucy's. Her face rose back up as she kept eye contact.

"I just don't return those types of feelings for you. I do care about you, an awful lot. I value your friendship dearly, and I definitely don't want to lose it over this. But I just don't wish to have that type of relationship with you."

Lucy looked down again, scrunching her eyes shut tightly, obviously fighting tears back. Unable to help himself, Will pulled her tightly into a hug, to try to stop her crying.

"Is it because of my weight?" She blubbered into Will's shoulder.

"No!" Will cried, looking at Lucy with horrified eyes. "That has nothing to do with it. I have feelings for you because, because I just don't." This had to be the worst conversation of his life! Everything Will said made him sound like a completely insensitive brute, no matter how much he wanted what he said to come off as kind.

"I think you're beautiful, inside and out."

This caused Lucy to smile lightly, but she still returned her gaze sadly to the ground.

"Three times prettier than Callie." Will offered, causing a slight laugh to creep from Lucy's lips. Being that girls were naturally competitive, Lucy always liked to have one thing over Callie.

"She's not that bad." Lucy sniffed, brushing a tear from her cheek. "She's the type to grow into her looks."

"Maybe" Will shrugged. Lucy lightly laughed again, more to keep the tears at bay than her actually finding what Will had said was funny.

"Are you going to be okay?" Will asked, Lucy nodded with a weak reassuring smile.

"Alright then. Perhaps we should go home." Will said, re-offering his arm to Lucy, who took it with the same ladylike gratitude before heading back to Lucy's home.

* * *

After his talk with Lucy, Will hid within his home once again. The entire town had gone mad with love and Will wanted absolutely no part of it. On the eve before his departure Will couldn't be happier, feeling so relieved at being nearly free of the town's temporary nonsense. Although compelled by reasons unknown to him. Will ventured out of his home back to Callie's house. He felt he should say goodbye before his leaving. After all he would miss her during his journey.

The front door opened and a warm glow radiated out. Inman stood at the door with his cream colored vest and shirt collar slightly opened, Will had probably just caught him relaxing by the fire as he usually did in the evening.

"Well hello there!" Inman said "Where have you been hiding these last few days? I thought I had gone mad, not seeing you at all."

"Hi" Will said, "May I speak to Callie momentarily? I'm going out to sea tomorrow with my uncles and I wanted to say goodbye."

"I heard about that, you must be very excited."

Will smiled, nodding a bit.

"Are you going because you're hoping to meet someone there?" Inman asked, staring at Will intently. Will nodded again.

"I can't guarantee that you'll see him, but I sincerely hope you do. I am sorry to have been so little of help to you in those matters, I did try. But you'll probably be much luckier than I anyway." Inman smiled down at the boy.

"I do appreciate your efforts very much." Will looked timidly up at him. "Do you think I could speak to Callie now?"

"Right!" Inman's eye widened as he remembered Will's reason for his being there. "You can speak for a moment, but no going off. Callie's to be getting ready for bed right now!" Inman called up the stairs, knowing Callie was listening.

His friend emerged from her bedroom, still fully clothed and fully awake, thumping down the stairs towards the front door.

"Can I talk to you?" Will asked yet again as she approached.

"Yeah, I think we desperately need to talk." She said as she took Will by the arm and led him out the door.

"Just stay in the yard!" Inman yelled out to the children as they wandered off into the dark. Callie led him towards the path leading off the Caldwell property.

"Cal, your father just said-"

"There can be absolutely no witnesses to this conversation." Callie's tone was so serious Will didn't dare question it. She led him back to the spot where they first met, the little pond just outside Will's uncles' property. Nobody ever went out there, thus they could talk completely uninterrupted.

They reached the pond and Callie released Will's arm finally.

"I really just came over to say goodbye, and that I'll bring you back something if you'd like." Will said lamely as he sat on a log, watching Callie skip stones across the shallow water.

"Isn't that nice of you, but we have more important matters." Callie threw the last stone from her pile and turned around to see Will looking at her expectantly.

"We need to come to terms with this whole 'we're in love thing' once and for all."

Will answered that with a very loud groan.

"Now we can talk and talk until we're blue in the face, but no matter what we say we're still gonna be firm on the assumption that we don't like each other." Callie went on, ignoring Will.

"But if we know that then-" Will stopped himself abruptly and stared at Callie, a little worried. "Assumption?" He asked weakly.

"Yes assumption. We assume we don't like each other so to be certain we're going to have to put it to a test. We're going to have to kiss."

Will laughed, maybe a little too hard, as he felt a little woozy after a few moments of that. Then seeing the serious tone on Callie's face had not left Will calmed down immediately, and his look of sheer delight turned almost frightened.

"What?" He said nervously.

"We're going to have to kiss." Callie took a seat beside him, "Come on, pucker up."

Will scrambled to his feet, eager to get away. Callie went after him.

"Would you just hold on a second?" Will cried as he tried to keep Callie away from him.

"Take it like a man!" Callie tripped Will sending him to the ground. Anticipating the worst Will scrunched his face and turned it to the side. Bursts of laughter came from above, Will opened one eye and saw Callie doubled over, red faced, and laughing like a lunatic.

"Out of all the things I've pulled on you, this is by far the most rewarding!" She shrieked between her laughs. Still guarding himself very heavily, Will got back to his feet. Once seeing that she was intent on continuing her laughing and not trying to trick him again, Will started to chuckle himself.

"I knew you wouldn't do it." Will tried to recover some of his dignity.

"Of course you did. That's why you ran away from me and crumpled to the ground hiding your face!"

Will flushed a little bit; his attempts at regaining his pride were now proven futile.

"Alright, alright, you win. I thought you were going to kiss me, I was scared. But with all these crazy things happening now I don't know what to believe."

"Me neither." Callie said. A new strange tone was in her voice, one completely different from anything she had every heard before. Will looked up at her, wondering what she meant by saying that, as she obviously had a hidden meaning behind it. She looked at him, stern faced again.

A tree stood just a foot behind Will, and Callie took the opportunity to shove him roughly against it. Will stood wide-eyed again, but the gravity of the situation kept him utterly motionless. Callie kept his gaze for a moment, smiled slightly, and lightly placed her lips upon his. She made sure she kept it light, lest it be awkward and clumsy. Neither of them really did anything, they stayed as still as possible. All types of movement involved with kissing were completely unknown to the two novices and neither of them wanted to experiment and make an utter fool of themselves.

It only lasted a few seconds actually, although being as life-changing as it was it seemed like forever. They separated with a slight smacking noise and they stood silent for a very long time, neither willing nor wanting to look at each other for a while. There was still the answer to this experiment that they needed a conclusion on, so finally after a long time of mustering up enough guts to look at each other, they finally made eye contact.

As if they were strangers again, they smiled politely at each other, then almost in synchronized fashion both shook their heads, they had come to their conclusion. They broke out in laughs again,

"All that fuss for nothing!" Callie smiled, very relieved in their findings.

"Nothing" Will agreed. "I'll walk you home."

* * *

"Alright I figured out what I want you to bring me back." Callie said as they walked up the porch steps.

"What?"

"A shark tooth, directly from the mouth." Will frowned at her.

"You want me to wrestle a shark?"

"Yes I do, and I expect to see blood on it, to know you did what you were told." She said in a mockingly stern tone, causing Will to laugh again.

"I'm not fighting a shark. I'll bring you a seashell."

"Fine, I'll just get my own when I'm out on the sea again." Callie smirked as she opened the front door. The front of the house was completely silent, but the light from a fire near the back of the house showed her father was still awake; probably waiting up for her.

"See you in six months." Will whispered. He turned to leave when Callie's voice stopped him again.

"You do realize if you tell anyone I'll have to kill you." He turned around again, almost a little pleased. Callie was trying to sound tough but the slight fear of people finding out their secret was evident in her voice.

"Not a word. We're in this together." He stated with his hand over his heart. Callie nodded, satisfied with his answer and closed the door.

Yawning heavily she started up the stairs, and the front door opened once again. She frowned as she saw Will entering again and flying up the stairs towards her, while noticeably being as quiet as possible, as to not draw attention to themselves. She opened her mouth to speak when Will caught it in another painfully awkward kiss. He tried putting his hand on her shoulder for a better effect but removed it once he realized that just made it more uncomfortable. It ended again in seconds that seemed like eternities again, this time however they did not need as much silence to recover from it. Callie started to smirk just as soon as they were at normal distance apart again, Will to snicker a bit. They looked at each other and shook their heads once again.

"No" Callie said,

"Nothing" Will agreed.

Will tip-toed back down the stairs and glanced at Callie one last time before heading out the door. Upon seeing each other both of them broke out in laughter that they had to desperately smother. He waved goodbye before clapping both hands over his mouth, and finally exited the Caldwell home.

On the walk home, every time he allowed himself to think about what had just happened he'd chuckle warmly. He snuck into his house without any trouble, and immediately got ready for bed. He laid down and let out a relaxed sigh, grateful for the comfortable atmosphere.

He lolled his head back and forth as he drifted off to sleep. It fell limply to the left side and he looked at his open window, thinking of Callie once again. He laughed lightly, as he put his hands behind his head.

"Not bad nothing though." He said before falling asleep.

* * *

**A/N: Hope you liked it!**


	43. Elizabeth Swann

Will didn't remember much about that day, he remembered a lot of people running around in a frantic state, he remembered the loud booming of cannons, and the feel of the deck splintering to pieces beneath his feet. He remembered the rocking of the sea, and feeling soaking wet. But most of all he remembered her. The feel of her soft hand on his clammy skin, her glorious voice, even though his excessive panting prevented him from hearing half of what she said.  
She said her name was Elizabeth Swann, which sounded oddly familiar to Will for some reason, and the last thing Will could remember about that day was what she said to him before he blacked out.

"I'm watching over you Will."

When Will slept that night he dreamed of his mother. For that's what she had promised him before she died; an angel to watch over him. His mother sent Elizabeth to him, his own personal guardian angel.

* * *

Will awoke the next morning in a strange room and utter confusion took over as Will tried to assess where he was. The room was drafty and dark, with the only light in that room was a knot hole here and there in the sides of the ship Will sat up to better take in his surroundings when the blanket Will had wrapped around him crumpled down to his waist and Will finally noticed the dampness of his clothing and the sheer cold temperature of the room. Violently shivering Will hastily pulled the thick wool blanket back around him. Instinctively, Will reached for the medallion he kept around his neck to comfort himself. His fingertips grazed the part of his neck where the medallion should have been and felt frantically around for a moment when he felt only his own skin. He paled a bit and felt as if he might retch. How could he lose his medallion? The only thing that could help him find his father, the only thing he had left of him!

Suddenly his terrible woe was interrupted by a dainty knock came at the door, and before Will could take time to fully evaluate who it could possibly be he muttered a strained "come in". Will had enormous lumps form in his throat as he saw Elizabeth enter the room with a candle, a tray, and a magnificent smile on her face. Will's lips pursed from shock, making it difficult for him to say "Miss Elizabeth"

"Good Morning!" She greeted as she carefully slid the tray on her bedside table. "Even if it doesn't seem like morning in here." She joked as she lit another candle that she had on the tray.

"My father has put you in my charge, and I saw fit to bring you breakfast. After this my father has requested for you to come up on deck to speak with him."

Elizabeth spoke with such perfect decorum Will felt odd and unrefined. The only other person Will know who spoke remotely like Elizabeth was Callie's mother.

"Alright" Will said bluntly, still dumbfounded by Elizabeth's presence.

For the longest time Will had considered his way of speaking to be much more refined than others around him. Now however, compared to Elizabeth it seemed like Will spoke no better than Callie.

Will ate what he could of the breakfast Elizabeth had set in front of him, although eating was quite difficult since his stomach was still in knots over his lost medallion, and the fact that Elizabeth was sitting right next to him, watching politely made Will even more nervous. Not to mention that with eating the same types of food for three months straight, the food just did not seem appetizing to him anymore.

Elizabeth didn't stay with him long, only until she was sure he had eaten enough then politely took her leave. Will choked down what he could and quickly made his way back on deck. The blinding light from the sun made Will squint his eyes to mere slivers. For a while he glanced around disoriented, looking for Elizabeth's father.

"Will!" He heard Elizabeth's voice and he turned to see her at the side of the ship, at the angle she was standing at she had obviously been staring at the ocean before seeing Will.

"My father's office is just up those stairs." Elizabeth pointed him in the right direction. Will grinned sheepishly and bowed a wordless thank-you. He approached the giant sturdy doors and gave a timid knock. A nasal voice came from behind the other side of the door, telling him to come in. Will entered the room his just as much timidity as he had with Elizabeth, if not more. Two men were in the room, one was a bit older with a Governor's wig on, and the other one was much younger with a very stern brow and a naval officer wing on. The older man let loose a slightly childish grin and approached Will first.

"Good morning son." He greeted. "I am Governor Swann, and this is Lieutenant Norrington." He gestured to the younger man with the stern brow.

"-and from what my daughter has told me your name is William Turner, correct?" Will nodded dumbly.

"Excellent, now Will if you would kindly sit down, we'd like to ask you some questions." Governor Swann pointed to a finely polished table and Will sat down in the first seat he saw. It took him a moment to realize the chair he was sitting in was the only one out of the other chairs that had armrests and a higher backing, and looking up saw that both men were staring oddly at him. Quickly registering that he was sitting in the head chair where the Governor would usually sit, he immediately got up and awkwardly moved to another chair, sputtering multiple apologies.

"Miss Elizabeth's been very kind to me, as she told me that you asked of her. She even brought breakfast to me this morning." Will offered as they all got to their seats. He was trying to ease their opinions of him after his foolish behavior.

"Yes I am pleased to hear that." The Governor's look became sterner. "But I'd prefer if you referred to my daughter as Miss Swann." He emphasized the name, sounding almost irritated with Will. Apologizing again, Will looked down, ashamed at his impropriety. The years with Callie have crippled the manners the fundamental manners he managed to learn beforehand.

"Now William" Lieutenant Norrington broke in, "You do realize what happened to you yesterday. Don't you?"

Will's mind went blank, and he stayed silent for along time.

"Your ship was capsized, by whom or why is unknown. We searched the remains but you were the only survivor on that entire ship." Will stayed silent as he added up the facts in his head.

"Was your family with you, William?" Governor Swann delicately asked, and Will nodded gravely. Both of the men continued to stare sternly at him, although Governor Swann seemed more sympathetic.

"Do you remember anything that happened that morning before the attack? Did you happen to see the other ship?" Lieutenant Norrington pressed on. Will solemnly shook his head.

"It was really foggy," he recalled, "I don't think anybody saw it coming."

"Well now, you see Lieutenant? The boy knows nothing." The Governor pointed out. "We will continue on our voyage to Port Royal with William as our guest." Will shot the Governor a horrified look.

"Pardon?" He chocked out. "I'm sorry, but I can't go to Port Royal. I need to get back home in Willow's bend."

Both men stared at him curiously.

"You told us momentarily ago your family was on the ship." Lieutenant Norrington said in a slightly confused tone.

"Yes…but I have a whole other life there. I have very close friends who'd be who'd be very worried if I were to disappear suddenly. I couldn't do that, I have to get back."

"We cannot simply reroute an entire ship for one little stop. We do not have the time of provisions for that. I truly am sorry for your misfortunes but I will not strain this entire voyage because of it." The Lieutenant said sternly. Will felt like he was losing himself a bit to hysterics now.

"The father of my best friend is a captain. If you sent a letter to him he'd surely come. I know he would."

The two older men exchanged approving glances.

"That would work," The Governor said, "and while you wait we can find something to occupy your time." Will nodded gratefully, although wondering silently what they meant by something to occupy his time.

* * *

Will exited the cabin with a slightly sickening pit in his stomach. Sailing on a strange ship with no one he knows, only to go live in a foreign place, with only a hope to be picked up by Inman and taken home was a very stressful situation. Not to mention what's going to happen to him when and if he gets home, where's he going to live?

He leaned on the rail on the side of the ship and let out a heavy sigh. Unbeknownst to him he caught the attention of Elizabeth Swann, who was then intrigued to come join him.

"Hello again," She greeted him as she walked up beside him and looked out at the sea. "Everything alright?" Will shrugged and tried to smile a little at Elizabeth's kind attempt at pleasant conversation.

"I guess so; at least it will be, in a little while." He shyly answered, turning his gaze towards the sea, finding it almost too difficult to speak to her and look at her at the same time.

"If you don't mind my asking, what will happen in a little while that will make things better?" Elizabeth asked.

"Hopefully the father of my friend will come to get me." Will answered, stealing a glance at Elizabeth before looking back at the sea, his cheeks turning pink at the sight of her.

"Oh? That's very kind of him. You're certain that he'll make the trip out?"

"Yes." He answered quickly. "The only thing that could keep him away would be if he's already out at sea. But I'm sure he'd come as soon as he could."

Elizabeth nodded, a hint of pity for Will was in her eyes.

"I'm sure he will."

Will's eyes shifted back to glance at Elizabeth again. She too was staring out at the sea, and the glowing sun above them was causing her honey blonde hair to sparkle and shine. Though it would have been even better if her hair was down and not up in a tight bun.

"So where are you from?" She asked, turning back to him. She had taken it upon herself to break the silence once again.

"Presently I live in Willow's Bend, it's a small town just outside of Charleston-"

"You're from the colonies!" Elizabeth broke in, sounding pleased for some reason. Will, a bit taken aback by her exclamation, continued to speak.

"Why are you so surprised?" He asked.

"Sorry for the outburst, but I just find the idea of starting colonies in foreign land to be fascinating." Her face reddened slightly, she was obviously embarrassed.

"Well it's definitely interesting…" Will said truthfully. He fought the urge to laugh, knowing Elizabeth would not get the joke.

"But I'm originally from London. I lived there with my mother," He continued on with his story. "When I lost her I went out to live with two distant uncles."

Elizabeth's fascinated gaze faded quickly as the gravity of Will's sad story began to settle in.

"Were they on the ship with you?" She asked quietly. Will's mouth snapped shut, he was unable to speak. However Elizabeth got the answer to her question through the look in his eyes. Her suspicions had been confirmed.

"Forgive me, I should not have pressed…My father says that'll be my downfall. It's not very lady-like to be nosy."

Unable to help it, Will gave another wide smile. If it was possible he found himself adoring her even more.

"Don't worry, I don't think you're nosy. I know nosy girls and you are definitely not one of them."

Elizabeth tilted her head slightly and eyed him curiously, meaning for him to further explain himself.

"I know this girl who once saw it necessary to put her hand under my shirt just to see this medallion I was wearing under my shirt." Will did not know why he didn't address Callie as his friend; somehow it just seemed right to not mention it. Elizabeth seemed to look odd at him, almost guilty for a moment, before shaking the look away and smiling again.

"How odd." She said simply, laughing lightly. With that the topic of Callie was dropped altogether.

Elizabeth looked down modestly, and Will couldn't contain his amusement. Something about her was so wonderfully differently. He wasn't used to girls his age acting so proper, so refined, and so unbelievably perfect. She was like the princesses in all those fairytale stories Will used to read when he was little. Girls like Elizabeth were the reason people wrote those types of stories in the first place.

"Anyway…" He began once again, Elizabeth laughed nervously. "Where in England did you live?" He asked inquiringly.

"All over the place really; Kent, Yorkshire, London, I even spent some time in Wales. My father has been moved all over the place for his stature, and obviously I have to go with him." She recalled, sounding a little sad as she spoke.

"Wow, it must be nice to be able to travel so much." Will offered, trying to ignore the underlying hint of sadness in Elizabeth's tone.

"I guess," She said tiredly "but it is a little bit of a bother. I moved around so much that I never stay long enough to make any real friends. It does get rather lonely at times…"

"I'm sorry to hear that." Will said. "I never took that into account. You don't have anybody you see on a regular basis?"

Elizabeth shook her head. "No, only my father. Even my maids and governesses change with each place. I do meet a few people regularly at parties and other formal type of gatherings, but I don't see them on an everyday basis, or even a weekly basis.

Will put another sympathetic look on his face, which Elizabeth received graciously, however only for a moment before putting another happy look on her face, effectively erasing all traces of sadness.

"At least I'll have you here for a little while. Until you go home that is." She said. Will smiled again, feeling the need to reach out and touch her hand which was sitting mere inches away from his.

"Of course, I'll be here for you, until I go home that is." He said cheerfully, meaning to make Elizabeth happy. Although it was almost alarming how quickly he had gone from being homesick to feeling remorse of going home.

* * *

**A/N: If there's anybody remaining who has continued to wait for this story update anymore I'm sorry about the wait. Just a bunch of non-stop things happening. Anyway hope you liked it, the stories coming close to the ending...:(**


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